NORAD
by Hunter116
Summary: The NCR is mopping the renmants of Caesar's Legion in 2283 when the Courier and a Task Force of NCR Troopers arrive at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. The facility is being used as a last stand fortification for the Legion while the NCR wipes the Legion off the map. The Vault-like complex has been sealed since the Great War, but what secrets does it hide inside?
1. Mission Briefing

The mission was simple. NCR wanted to clear out the ruins of the United States' Pre-War Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The complex was currently being utilized as the Legion's final stronghold and apparent last stand. The facility was built by the United States on September 12, 1957. It was designed and constructed to be a command and control center should nuclear war break out during the Cold War. Being so, the facility was built to last and was made to withstand a nuclear blast. The facility had apparently been left relatively unscathed in the two hundred that passed after the Great War. Caesar had found it while traveling through Colorado, a few years after he had found his Legion. Caesar was not able to unlock the vault doors that locked the facility's secrets inside, but the exterior portion of the facility was habitable and contained large amounts of provisions left by a tribe that had once called the facility home. As the war on Caesar's Legion was coming to an end, with the Legion's back against the Vault Doors and the NCR in close pursuit; the Vault doors opened.

Nathan flicked his thumb on the lighter. The useful tool sparked twice and the end of Nathan's cigarette butt burned red. He had time to inhale and exhale before a man ran up next to him. Lightning struck the land in the distance. The rain poured and slapped against Nathan's duster.

"Lieutenant, the Colonel would like to speak to you." The man said. Nathan waved him away. The man, stunned, nodded awkwardly and ran off. Nathan rubbed his eyes and began walking towards the command tent. Lightning struck once again and the mountain before him lit up for a second before darkening again.

"Hale, good to see you." Colonel Hsu said as Nathan entered. The light from the lantern hurt his eyes and Nathan sat down in a chair next to Lieutenant Gorobets. "Let's get started then, Cassandra?"

"Gentelemen, the mission is simple. The Last of Caesar's Legion has taken up defensive positions in the Pre-War US NORAD facility. The facility was considered one of the safest in the US before the Great War and will be tough to clear out. This operation will be close-quarters and the Legion will have the advantage." Colonel Moore spoke as the projector displayed images of the blue-prints for the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

"We will have three teams: Alpha will be led by me, Bravo will be led by Cassadra, and Charlie will be led by Lietenant Gorobets. First Recon will have eyes in the sky. They will be stationed at Rally Points: Tango, Utah, and Violet. As Alpha and Bravo sneak in, First Recon will do us the honors of picking off Legion Straglers and Explorers with silenced firearms." Hsu continued.

"The mission is low-profile so take your time. We don't need any more heroes; we only need healthy soldiers." Colonel Moore spoke. The rain pattered against the hardened leather of the command tent and the tent flaps slapped in the wind. The wind howled through the opening of the command tent. The projector whirred as a new slide slid into place. "This is Rally Point Yankee. This is where the two teams will link up and where Bravo will move into firing position. After that, Alpha will move to lure the Legion out and our firing line will take care of the rest. Any question?" Moore asked.

"Who's in what?" Nathan spoke.

"Hale, you're with me." Hsu said as Moore opened her mouth. She fumed and glared at him as Hsu winked at Nathan. Nathan nodded and made a short salute.

"Thanks, Colonel." Hale responded.

"Fine then, Misfits are on Hsu. Rangers and Heavy Armor with me. Understood?" Moore growled.

"Yes ma'am!" the soldiers in the room shot back. Hale only chuckled.

"Operation will commence at 0200 hours, gentlemen." Hsu spoke with a serious tone. "Get some rest." Thunder clapped once again.


	2. Hildern's Request

Nathan was laying in his bunk. It was 0015 hours. 45 minutes until he would need to begin prepping himself for the mission. The Operation was simple. Ever since Caesar had been killed by Nathan and Boone, the Legion hadn't been the same kind of threat that it was. It was still extremely dangerous, but much less organized. The Legion had become less efficient under Legate Lanius. Also, with the tactics exchange between Nathan and Joshua Graham, Nathan was the only other person outside of the Legion who knew it as well as Joshua Graham. There was another who knew it better than Graham, but he had left long ago. 2 days before the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, Nathan had stumbled into the Divide. There, he learned of the past that he no longer knew. The man he once was. Ulysses, a courier like Nathan knew everything about Nathan's past. Nathan was curious as to how this man would know so much about him. So Nathan ventured into the Divide and left with more questions. The courier, Ulysses, had been convinced by Nathan to back down and surrender. Ulysses stayed behind in the Divide and Nathan left to fight the Legion one last time. It was there that the NCR triumphed over the Legion in battle and turned the tide in the war of attrition that had gone on for too long. It was there that Nathan Hale was promoted to Lieutenant in the New California Republic's Army. Kimball had skipped all formalities and standard procedure in enlisting Nathan. Much to the chagrin of the NCR Brass, Nathan was enlisted as a First Lieutenant without undergoing proper training. In Kimball's eyes, this was his ticket to a landslide reelection. To Nathan's, it was another fight. The only thing he still longed for in life.

In the darkness of the bunk, Nathan flicked his lighter open and closed it. Open. Closed. Open. Closed.

"Will you knock that off? I'm trying to sleep." Boone muttered from across the room.

"I can't sleep." Nathan answered.

"I can tell. I can. So stop." Boone snapped. Open. Close. Open. Close.

"Why'd you re-enlist?" Nathan asked. Open. Close. Open. Close.

"To kill more Legionaries." Boone responded. Open. Close. Open. Close.

"What will you do after they are all dead tomorrow?" Nathan asked. Open. Close. Open. Close. Open. Boone sighed and stayed silent. Close. Nathan closed his eyes and listened for the soft pitter-patter of the rain. Thunder rumbled silently. Nathan was lucky. Because he was the hero of the NCR he was allowed to stay in the Commanders facilities that was usually reserved for someone who was the rank of Captain. Nathan sighed. _What will I do when they're all dead tomorrow?_ Nathan closed his eyes. He opened them. 0155. _Time to get up_. Nathan thought. He flicked on the lantern next to his bunk. Boone was gone. His bed was empty, things tidied up, Nathan rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bunk. He pulled out his suitcase from under his bunk and unlocked it. Inside it was a small 5.56 mm pistol. The words: "That Gun" were carved into the barrel. It was a gift from a friend. Nathan expertly disassembled the pistol and began cleaning it. In five minutes the pistol was cleaned and ready for action. Nathan holstered the pistol and opened up the cabinet in the corner of the room. Inside, was Nathan's customized Veteran Ranger Armor. Colonel Hsu had it tailored for Nathan shortly before the Second Battle.

"All Heroes need their own armor." He had said. Hsu had even paid the Engineering corp to hook the helmet up with a solar-powered earpiece that was attached to the helmet. It could be worn with or without the helmet. Additionally, Hsu had ordered the visor colors to be changed to blue. "Can't have anyone confusing you with another Ranger." The armor was matte-black and the armors titanium reinforcements shone brightly, even in the dim light. Nathan had added his own attachments to the armor. He had taken shoulder pads from Elite Riot Gear utilized by the 37th Calvary and painted it black. He had also replaced the common duster with a more practical water-proof Kevlar cloak due to the series of storms that has plagued Colorado Springs for the past few days. Additionally, inside the wardrobe was his trusty Marksman Carbine that Nathan liked to call the "All-American". Once Nathan was suited up he donned his helmet was headed for the armory.

Nathan had passed two doors when he passed Hildern.

"Ah, Hale. Just the man I was looking for." He said.

"Hildern." Nathan grunted. Luckily, the helmet masked Nathan's sarcasm. It would not be fortunate to offend the newly appointed Director of the OSI. Much to Nathan's chagrin, Congress had voted him Director. Keely formally resigned the next day and started her own firm. Now, thanks to Keely, the OSI has been having a lot of staff shortages.

"Now, listen to what I have to say before you reject my offer again." Hildern began. Nathan started walking. Hildern followed.

"Now wait, I have a job for you. Please, hear me out." Hildern stammered.

"What did I tell you, Hildern?" Nathan asked.

"I know. I know. You warned me about the plant data and I didn't listen. But what's past is past." Hildern explained.

"You used the data for your sharecropper farms, and now those damn spore carrier are all over the Mojave!" Nathan snapped.

"Were. Mr. Hale. The spore carriers were all over the Mojave. NCR Heavy Support units coupled with Brotherhood support was sufficient in eliminating the scourge." Hildern reasoned.

"I'm done. Hildern." Nathan growled and walked off.

"Please, Nathan. I'm begging you. This is my big break. If you don't do this I'll lose my status. Congress has been less and less sure of me lately." Hildern begged.

"That's great! I hope you rot in the Boneyard for all I care!" Nathan snapped again.

"Listen, you have no idea what you're walking into. The Brass wouldn't listen to me. Again, the lack of confidence.." Hildern began.

"Shut up! What are you talking about." Nathan asked.

"Alright. I be straight with you." Hildern began. _That's a first._ "This facility was a test facility constructed by both RobCo and Vaul-Tec. We know how both companies conducted weapons and biological tests correct?" Nathan nodded. "Well, from old Pre-War documents found when we first cleared out Mariposa indicates that the Cheyenne Facility had a large amount of the Forced Evolutionary Virus to combat some called the 'New Plague' that had just hit Denver at the time. Because of this prevelance of the FEV virus and other unknown test subjects that the US was conducting at the time. We have know idea what's in the facility itself."

"I'm done, Hildern. You've wasted too much of my time." Nathan snapped as he turned away.

"Please, Nathan. Listen. The President who ran the United States just before the Great War was a scientific genius. He had made so many plans and designs for things that we at OSI cannot even begin to imagine. All I am asking is that you use the computers inside the facility to provide us the location of the President's body." Hildern begged. Nathan stopped.

"Now why would that still be working?" Nathan asked. Hildern's brow narrowed and his eyes darkened.

"Pre-War Security for the United States was at an all-time high after the assassination of the President prior to the genius were are searching for. So the Enclave implemented a program of placing to neurological implant at the base of his skull to provide the POTUS and NORAD computers with information on everything. His biologicals signs, heart rate, everything. It also acted as a tracking device. It was one of the most advanced of its time! It was marvelous when I found about I couldn't believe what I was reading!"

"Shut up!" Nathan said. "How do you all of this?"

"That's classified. I can tell you this however: the Legion is going to be the least surprising thing about the Cheyenne Facility." Hildern confessed.

"You have wasted more of time than I would have liked. But I will look into this for you." Nathan grunted.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Hildern exclained. Nathan waved him off and continued towards the armory. 


	3. Closing In

"You're late." Hsu snapped as Nathan arrived at Rally Point Tango.

"I met Hildern on the way." Nathan snapped back.

"Understood. I'll give him a piece of my mind when we get back. He knows better than to interfere with a military op. Why did he do that?" Hsu wondered out loud. _That's going to bother him for the op._ Nathan rolled his eyes. 0230. _30 minutes behind schedule. Fuck!_

"Radio check." Hsu spoke through his radio. Colonel Hsu was the only person who carrier a Ranger Radio. Everyone else wore a helmet, including Colonel Moore.

"Tango, check." Gorobets voice crackled into Nathan's earpiece.

"Utah, check." Betsy's voice crackled as soon after.

"Violet, check." Boone's voice crackled.

"Bravo, check." Moore's voice followed.

"Alpha, check." Hsu said. "All teams ins positions. Set mission timer… Now." Nathan tapped his screen on his Pip-Boy 3000. The Brotherhood and The Followers had modified it a little. Made it more suitable for military work. 0000 flooded into Nathan's HUD. After the Brotherhood became friendly with the NCR again. (The Mojave Chapter at least). The NCR military's hardware received numerous upgrades. Rangers now know of the HUD feature that was always in the helmets beforehand, but never knew about. The HUD feature requires a small energy cell to power of course, but it is still useful. The HUD came with two main visual features. A Low-light setting and a thermal imaging setting. Next was the gas filter and helmet seal options. Those only work when the helmet is snapped shut and electronically synched to the LAPD Riot Gear unit. Thanks to the Brotherhood, the Ranger armor is now essentially a light power armor! The Followers on the hand focused on the new design of the NCR's Battle Dress Uniform. The Brown rags of the old days never helped much with protecting a trooper. In fact, that BDU was adopted to combat the high casualty rate that the NCR faced in the early days of combating the Legion while Caesar was alive. Now that Caesar is dead and Lanius rendered incapable of ever fighting again; the NCR readopted its more expensive BDU. The new BDU was more reminiscent of a WWII American Army Fatigue. In fact, the design came from one of the museum ruins found in the Boneyard. The building had survived with its storage closet intact, and inside was all the World War 2 exhibits. The NCR Brass loved the BDU because it was light enough for the troopers to be agile and cheap enough to mass produce. The BDU was technically not new anymore. The Mojave was the only place where the new BDU was not issued out due to the supply lines being cut by Caesar's Legion so often.

"Radio silence." Hsu whispered as he raised his Service Rifle. "Hayes, take point." Lt. Hayes moved forward and tapped the button on his borrowed Ranger helmet. Due to the NCR taking on so many enemies at the same time, Veteran Rangers and Patrol Rangers are in short supply. The only thing not in short supply was some of the equipment. Ranger Black armor and kit are only supplied to Rangers. But the Brass is much more flexible with the Helmet situation when it comes to night ops. Nathan pressed his left hand to his temple. The visor glowed a light gray color. His surroundings lit up and were outlined by the helmet. _Thank you, Knight Lorenzo_. McNamara was hard to convince on his standing towards helping the NCR. But over time, he came to see that the NCR were good people with a few spoiled apples. He lent some scribes for support on the condition that the NCR never pry into what kind of tech the Brotherhood has hidden away in their bunker. Kimball agreed immediately and rushed to meet the Elder immediately. Afterwards, there was a large ceremony that was held in Novac to commemorate the Brotherhood becoming a contractor for the NCR. Now Brotherhood Knights and Paladins can be hired by NCR citizens for odd jobs. Bounty hunting is especially popular among the Brotherhood. There was even a scoreboard for all the kills and even elder McNamara sometimes took part in the competition. Veronica couldn't thank Nathan enough with this turn of events.

Hayes held his fist up. The team stopped and moved into the covering positions. They had drilled this multiple times. Even Nathan was starting to get a hang of it. Hsu pointed and McGee and Jenkins and waved the two forward. McGee moved two steps forward and Jenkins slowly walked to take cover behind a tree. Hayes held up two fingers and pointed. McGee tapped twice on his Pip-Boy 2000 (which was starting to become standard issue thanks to Lorenzo and Torres.) Two red triangles lit up the grey-blue on Nathan's HUD. Very shortly after, the two triangles disappeared. Hayes's fingers went down and he waved his hand forward. _Time to move. Thank you, First Recon._ With all the Pre-War tech coming back online thanks to the restoration efforts of the Brotherhood and the Followers the NCR military was starting to become reminiscent of the Pre-War United States Military. Nathan wondered: _Is this how they really fought all their engagements?_ _Nah. Can't be. They didn't fight like this in Anchorage. Not according to the terminal entries and virtual simulations. But what if their tech and tactics also changed dramatically after Anchorage?_ Nathan shrugged. _Who knows?_ He thought. The slope broke into a flat field of tall grass which was paying hell with the low-light setting of the helmet visor. It strained his eyes, but Nathan could make out the basic shapes. He blinked twice and the helmet's visor began to outline every detail in various colors. Green for basic objects such as buildings, trees, etc. Yellow for friendlies and red for hostiles. _Wait, why are there hostiles?_ The Red shape in front of Nathan grew larger and closer. A loud and guttural growl came from it. Nathan lowered his carbine and drew his sidearm. He tapped his thumb on the VATS function of his Pip-Boy. The adrenaline made things seem much slower. He turned to see what the helmet had already located. _Six targets. All moving incredibly fast. Too fast for dogs. Legion? Unlikely. What are they?_ Nathan tapped the temple on his helmet. His visual became a blue-red mixture imaging. Now he saw the threat clearly: _Nightcrawlers. Six of them._ Nathan turned to the once closest to him. _Torso. Head._ He turned and found a red shape leaping towards an upright red shape. _Nightcrawler and soldier. Better be careful. Torso._ Things were starting to speed up again. Nathan was running out of time. Third target. _Rear legs._ Fourth. _Torso._ Fifth. _Head._ Sixth. _Head._ The VATS mods ended and Nathan held up his pistol and tapped the trigger twice. He heard a yelp and a loud rattling sound. _The others are pissed, fuck!_ Nathan turned his body and dodged a Nightcrawler that had tried to leap onto him. The mutt landed on its feet and turned towards Nathan. Nathan kicked its snout and fired twice. Nathan brought the pistol to bear and lined up the sight and fired. Red shape turned blue. Five shots. Reload. It seemed almost mechanical in how Nathan was functioning currently. Nathan tapped the trigger. The Nightcrawler yelped and fell with its snout digging into the ground. Nathan turned and aimed his pistol. No targets left. The troopers had killed two Nightcrawlers without Nathan's help.

"Four targets. Hmm. Getting slow." Nathan muttered.

An hour later, Hsu's team arrived at Rally Point Yankee. Moore was fuming again.

"You're late." She growled.

"Hey, we're here. That's what counts right? We ran into a few problems on the way in." Hsu shot back.

"The longer we sit here the better chance that a Legion Explorer discovers our position!" Moore snapped.

"We're here. You haven't been discovered. What's the problem?" Hsu pressed. Moore sighed.

"Fine. Bravo front and center!" Moore hissed. The Misfits and three heavy support units moved into covering positions. The Misfits were outfitted with Marksman Carbines for longer ranges of support. The Heavy gunners held exactly what Heavy gunners should have: miniguns.

"Alpha, take up positions!" Hsu began. "Make sure to mark any sighted tangos." Nathan moved forward and crouched behind a tree. In the distance his grey-blue visor was a large blot of white. _Probably a campfire._ The location was perfect for the Legion. Caves that wound all around the mountain would provide ample areas to hide. There were many caves in construction throughout 2077, expanding the original complex to a much larger extent. God knows how many caves have added since the Great War from survivors and tribals. But the location was also perfect for the NCR. The steep mountain made it difficult to move around in. The best way not to get lost in the thick woods and forests that had grown around site would be to take one of the roads. There are a total of five roads that lead straight down the mountain. Three are covered First Recon with the other two being cleared by Alpha and Bravo.

"Alpha, forward. Bravo stay close." Hsu ordered. Nathan crept forward. The blot in his visor grew bigger and moved constantly. _Definitely a campfire._ Hsu pointed at Hayes and pointed two fingers at the campfire. Hayes crept up and put out the fire. There must have been tent or something that wasn't seen before. Suddenly, there was red triangle and before anyone could take him out he shouted.

"Intruders!—" He was cut off abruptly. Courtesy of First Recon.

"Fuck!" Hsu growled. "Hold position! Make ready for tangos." The standard procedure for engaging Legionaries was to wait. All members of the Legion are traned extensively in hand-to-hand combat. In order to conduct such a style of combat. They need to get close. Once any crimson gets within firing range, NCR rifleman can just open up on them. Simple, rudimentary, but effective. They waited. Nathan braced the stock of his carbine against his shoulder. The HUD synched to his scope and provided him a full feed of what the scope saw. Nothing. No red. No triangles. No targets.

"Where are they?" McGee asked.

"Don't know." Nathan responded. This went on for twenty minutes.

"Dammit!" Hsu muttered. The Legion had forced his hand, NCR would have to go into the caves without knowing who or what was in there.


	4. The Caves

The caves were a nightmare. Terrible visuals even with low-light on. Legion in every corner. Nathan was exhausted. He checked his mission clock. Two hours and 15 minutes into the op. Nathan checked his Pip-Boy.

"Clear!" he shouted.

"Clear!" Hayes shouted.

"All Clear!" Hsu shouted. "Regroup on me." Nathan turned and began walking towards Colonel Hsu.

"How long is it going to take to clear this place out, boss?" Jenkins asked Colonel Hsu.

"I have no idea. These caves are too big and numerous for me to get an accurate estimate. We could be here for days." Hsu groaned as he rubbed his eyes. The low visual was messing with him too. He held a flashlight up to a faded map. Legion had the courtesy to mark it up for the NCR. There were red marks, all in Latin, scribbled onto the map. Giant X's and squares filled the map.

"What the hell is that?" Hayes asked and pointed at the desk below the map. There was a Yao Guai skull and a broken helmet next to it. Nathan grabbed the helmet. Visor seemed similar to that of the Elite Riot Gears. But the visor was a T shape rather than two eye holes. _Power armor?_ _Too light. Combat armor? Too Heavy._

"Never seen it before. Hale hold onto it for now. We'll regroup with Bravo and tell them our situation." Hsu said.

"Yes, sir." The squad responded. Hale held the helmet in his hand then placed it into his pack.

The cave winded and curved to the right. Suddenly the visuals were greatly improved and the cave opened up into a cavern. Nathan blinked and the low-light turned off. It was a storage facility of sorts. There were Pre-War Planes. Hunks of Power Armor, crates of God knows what. But, also there was light. The light allowed for Alpha to see all the crimson in the cavern.

"This is bad." Hsu muttered. "That's Power Armor that the Centurions are wearing. They're breaking Caesar's law. Shit, this changes everything."

"What do you mean?" Jenkins asked.

"It means that the Legion may be getting an upgrade. They're breaking off from Caesar's combat doctrine and moving towards one that allows for high-end tech and cutting edge weaponry." Hayes cut in. Nathan looked into his scope. There was a Centurion speaking to another, donning Power Armor. _I've never seen that kind before._ It was black, sleek, and worst of all. It was not bulky at all. The only thing defined the armor as power armor was the huge energy core that sat on the users back. The helmet was the same T shaped helmet that Nathan had picked up earlier. The centurion turned in Nathan's direction. _Oh shit._ He pointed at Nathan. _Oh shit!_

"Move!" Nathan yelled as he leapt for cover. He didn't know why he did that. It was impulsive. But that impulse saved his life the opening exploded and collapsed.

"Everyone all right?" Hsu grunted as he coughed. "Everyone check in."

"Hayes here."

"McGee here."

"Fitzgerald Here."

"Hale, here."

"Jenkins?" Hsu called out. "Jenkins!"

"Fuck, he must be on the other side." McGee murmured. There was a screaming sound. Nathan tapped his earpiece. The antennae extended on his helmet.

"Jenkins! Sit-Rep now!" Hale shouted.

"Lt! You got to get me out of here!" Jenkins begged.

"Where are you?" Hale asked.

"I- I don't know!" Jenkins yelped. "There was an explosion, I fell backwards and I landed in the cavern somewhere but I don't recognize any of it. The lights turned off immediately and—"

"What?" Hale inquired. "Dammit! Focus! What is it?"

"There's something here." Jenkins whimpered. There was a clicking sound. Jenkins screamed and there was gunfire.

"Jenkins!" Hale shouted. He ran to the wall and pounded on it. Hale began moving rocks. "Jenkins!" the feed went dead. Everyone had heard it. Hsu was pale.

"We need to get out of here right now." Hsu said calmly.

"What about Jenkins, sir?" Fitzgerald asked.

"Whatever is in there, we don't want to see." Hsu responded calmly. Hale punched Hsu in the jaw.

"Hale!" Hayes growled. Nathan didn't care.

"Hayes! It's all right." Hsu said as he stood up. "Hale's right I needed that. I heard that clicking sound once before. I was a Captain then, we were exploring the Mariposa research facility after the Brotherhood had cleared out. The room's door locked me and another soldier in one room. The rest of my squad were locked in another. I heard everything that happened behind that door. There was that clicking sound then gunfire, screams. Then silence. What killed me was the silence. I found another way into the room, but by then it was too late." Hsu finished.

"What happened?" McGee asked.

"My squad was dead. They were torn to pieces by something." Hsu responded. Nathan took his carbine from the floor.

"Whatever it is, it's got Jenkins. If you want to leave, sir. That's your call. But with all due respect, I'm going after Jenkins." Nathan explained.

"I'll go too." Fitzgerald exclaims. McGee nodded. Hayes stayed silent. Hsu held his chin with his index finger and thumb.

"No, Lieutenant. We're all going together." He said. "But, we need to find another way into the cavern. Hsu held his flashlight up. "Let's head back to the map."

The map was no help. With the Latin scribbled on all over it, it was essentially useless. Nathan take his helmet off. He sighed. Nathan reached for his lighter and flicked it open. He held his hand to the cigarette and heard it. _Click._ Nathan dropped the cigarette and leapt from the table he was leaning on. _No red? Oh shit! The helmet!_ Nathan had left it on the table. He fell on his back with his pistol up, ready to fire.

"What is it?" Hayes asked.

"Listen." Hale muttered. _Click. Click. Click._ Hsu was pale again. He drew his sidearm. Nathan stood up and grabbed his helmet from the floor.

"Legion?" Hayes asked. The squad crept towards the center of the room. Backs facing one another.

"Can't be." McGee responded. "Not unless Legion has seriously stepped up their game."

"Back to back!" Nathan shouted. The squad now had their backs against each other. Nathan tapped his helmet. It leapt straight for him. The Deathclaw. _Oh fuck!_ Lights out.


	5. Poor Priorities

The stack of papers of Moore's desk was already piled high; the manila folder tossed on top a few seconds ago didn't help either. Just a messenger, prick from Special Research Division, boy was talking about information Moore already knew. She had a first-hand account and had been present at the time that Alpha Team had gone missing.

"Three days, Cassandra. Three days." The messenger spat.

"I didn't realize we were a first-name basis, Mr.?" Moore spat back. Moore busied herself by reorganizing her desk. The folder, the man had tossed on her desk had messed up the layout of her papers after all.

"My name is irrelevant, Cassandra." He responded coolly and confidently. "What's important is that the Courier is missing."

"What about the men that went missing along with Hale?" Moore answered. "Like Colonel Hsu for instance." The man rolled his eyes. Thunder rumbled, fifth day in a row that thunderstorms plagued the mountain.

"The point is, is that the President will be unveiling the new NCR memorial of the Second Battle along with the Heroes Monument at Goodsprings. He invited the Courier to be there. What should I tell him if the Courier were to be missing?" the man replied. Now it was Moore's turn to roll her eyes.

"Is that all these men are to you? Numbers on a spreadsheet rather living, breathing people?" Moore would have continued but the man held his palm up.

"Now listen here, I know these men are men. They're alive and fighting, whatever. But let's face it. The public adores the military and its shining example is the Courier. Kids back home in NCR absolutely love him. They all want to be him, but if there hero goes missing then it will the Vault Dweller all over again. A random, normal person who never had anything to do with the NCR. The public needs to know that the Courier works for the NCR and that the Republic appreciates what he has done for her." The man said. Moore blinked a few times.

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" she asked. The man threw his hands up in the air.

"Ma'am." A voice cut into the conversation.

"McCredie. Speak." Moore said.

"It's the advance team, ma'am. They found Fitzgerald's corpse near the entrance to the caves of the facility. The Rangers think it may have been a Deathclaw." Sergaent McCredie sounded concerned as she stepped forward to hand the clipboard to Moore.

"I see. Why is this information coming to me directly? What are the Rangers doing?" Moore asked impatiently.

"They moved deeper into the caves and discovered hundreds of shell casings and a blood trail that led to a Vault door." McCredie continued. _Vault? Is there a Vault we don't know about?_ "The Rangers cleared the caves that winded around the entire mountain. Actually, that's what took them so long. The only place Alpha could be is inside that Vault and there's no way to open it."


	6. The Maze

The light was blinding. Nathan shook his head. _Helmet? Here. Carbine? Two mags. Food? None. Water? One bottle left_ _Sleep? …_ Nathan rubbed his eyes as he flicked his lighter back on to produce some light. Nathan was panting hard, his fatigues were cut and his helmet had a Deathclaw's talon stuck in the top portion of it, rendering it almost useless. Nathan held his 9mm pistol, Maria out with his left hand. The front sight poised at any target that may present itself. Hale soon realized that his breathing was being matched by another's. _Oh right. Hsu._ The Colonel was slumped over; his body limp with one arm draped over Nathan's shoulders. _How am I gonna get out of this one?_

"Get it! Get it!" a voice shouted.

"Die, Motherfucker! Die!" another shouted. Gunfire. Long burst. _Probably light machine gun._ There was a growl, a snarl, and a roar. Then gunfire, and after the gunfire came the screams.

"They don't die! Run!" a voice shouted.

"No! NO! Help!" a third voice shouted. It only just occurred to Nathan that there were hundreds of cries for help. Screams in the darkness that no one would here. The place was a maze. Nathan had gotten lost too many times already. By chance he had found Hsu, Hsu had his Service rifle knocked out of his hands by a Super Mutant's rebar club. The Mutant responded by quickly throwing Hsu against the wall. Jenkins held fast but the Mutant clubbed the boy's head off with one stroke. Hsu drew his pistol and managed to fire three shots before the mutant closed in on him. Nathan arrived just as the mutant lifted Hsu above its head and brought Hsu's back against its knee. Nathan heard the bone crack and shatter as Nathan emptied the clip into the Mutant's head. That was a day ago. Now, Alpha was down to Hayes, Hsu, and Nathan. McGee went down valiantly when a Glowing One ambushed Nathan from behind. McGee was already with Nathan when Nathan woke up. The Glowing One was about to explode behind Nathan's back when McGee tackled the ghoul down. The explosion caused fatal amounts of radiation to surround Sergeant McGee. The explosion also drew attention from other feral ghouls in the area. McGee died before Nathan could clear out the Ghouls in time. Nathan limped forward, carrying Hsu was slowing Nathan down tremendously. _With a broken back, there isn't much Hsu could do._ _Even if I get him to safety, who can help him? He may not ever recover._ Nathan held Maria up as long as he could. It was his emergency firearm, should That Gun ever be lost, destroyed, or out of ammunition. Maria held 16 rounds and Nathan only one magazine for it. Nathan still had the carbine, but he wouldn't be able to use it as long as he had to carry Colonel Hsu.

"Damn it. What the hell do I do?" Nathan grunted as he shifted Hsu's body to help make carrying him a little easier. Nathan's earpiece cracked. _The hell?_

"Is anyone still broadcasting? This is Hayes. Report! Jenkins! Dammit!" Hayes 's voice broadcasted in the helmet. Hale slid the helmet over his head.

"This is Hale. Hayes? What is your position?" Hale asked as he began limping forward again. Hale took care to try not to notice the talon the came in from his left forehead area and pressed through the left visor.

"I'm at—" Hayes was cut off by an explosion. There was a yelp and a roar.

"Fuck!" Hayes shouted.

"Hayes?!" Hale shouted. He try moving faster. "Talk to me! Status, now!" Hayes grunted and the other man's voice shouted.

"Retribution!" _Oh no._

"It's a fucking Praetorian!" Hayes shouted. _Hayes never raises his voice. This is bad._ Nathan reached an intersection. "He's got a ballistic fist!" An explosion. Nathan saw it and began walking over.

"I see the explosions. I'm heading over right now." Hale panted into the earpiece.

"You mother—" Hayes voice was cut off again by a crack. _Hayes lost connection. Fuck!_ Hales moved faster. Maria began dropping. Hale's vision grew blurry. He turned left again. He saw the Praetorian. The Praetorian held Hayes' collar as Hayes stabbed his combat knife into the man's neck. Nathan aimed the front sight. Hale quickly tapped the VATS button. Time slowed. Nathan was able to breathe easier. He aimed Maria carefully and lined up the front sight with the Praetorian's arm. He opened fire. Hale pulled the trigger three times. The Praetorian's arm exploded, the man's face contorted and the man began to scream. The second bullet entered the base of the man's neck. The jugular veins were cut by the bullet grazing the two veins. The man grabbed one his neck with his remaining arm as the third bullet went wild. Hayes then proceeded to kick the man down and stab him numerous times with his combat knife. Nathan arrived shortly after.

"Glad you came when you did, Hale." Hayes grunted. He was sitting against the wall. The right side of his face was cut and burned, likely the Praetorian had grazed his face when Hayes wasn't paying attention. At the base of Hayes left elbow was a stump where he arm should've been. The bandage that wrapped the wound was soaked in blood and dripping. Hayes looked up at Hale and noticed Hsu. "What happened?" he murmured.

"He and Jenkins met a Super Mutant. Jenkins had his head clubbed off, while Hsu had his back broken." Hale sighed. Hayes twirled the combat knife in his right hand.

"When I first woke up, the Deathclaws were in the middle of dumping you guys down these metal chutes. They were fucking talking, man. Deathclaws that were talking! I thought that was just some bullshit story!" Hayes whimpered. "I tried to rescue you guys. I escaped by using this knife to stab one of the deathclaws in the eye. It responded by clawing my arm off. I was lucky I guess. I still had my rucksack when I jumped into the chute. It had a full med-kit in there; not the bullshit they give to the grunts, but the kind of kit actual doctors back home get. I was able to use the chems and supplies in there to treat my arm and fix it up. Then I managed to survive with just my knife until you came along."

"Can you walk?" Nathan asked. Hayes nodded slowly. Hayes stood up and stretched himself. Then it happened. The clicking sound came back.

"Oh no. No. No. No." Hayes muttered. He readied his combat knife.

"Hale. Put me down." Hsu's voice came clearly and confidently.

"Colonel?" Hale responded. "But, sir. Your back."

"Lean me against the wall. Give me your sidearm. I can still shoot." Hsu responded coolly.

"Yes, sir." Nathan relented. Nathan slowly leaned Colonel Hsu against the wall. The Colonel paled and his eyes widened. "Sorry, sir." Nathan muttered as he passed Maria to Colonel Hsu. Hsu nodded and aimed forward. Nathan drew his Carbine and aimed it forward. The clicking sound grew louder and louder. Slowly the sound of metal scraping metal filled the air.

"Sound's coming from there." Hayes pointed. Nathan aimed his carbine in the direction that Hayes had pointed out. Hale reached into his coat and produced a flare. He pulled the top off and tossed it down the corridor. A Deathclaw slowly stalked its way down the corridor. It sharpened its claws as it approached the group.

"Shit. Shit. Shit!" Hayes murmured. He flipped his knife so that its tip pointed to the ground. Nathan checked the carbine. _5 rounds left in the mag. Not enough._ The deathclaw started picking up speed. Nathan released the magazine. The Deathclaw was running now. Nathan slid the new magazine into the rifle. The Deathclaw was now ten feet away from Nathan. Nathan's right arm reached for his Pip-Boy. The claw slammed straight into Hale's torso, the force of the blow sent Hale flying backwards into Hayes. Hayes caught Hale and grunted as the two landed. Hale struggled to breath, the blow knocked all the air from Hale's lungs. Hsu fired twice more and reloaded.

"Fuck!" Hale muttered. Hale propped himself on one knee and took aim. Hayes sprinted forward and tackled the Deathclaw in an attempt to bring it further away from the Colonel. He might as well have tackled a soldier in Power Armor. Hale inhaled and exhaled, he aligned his crosshairs with the Deathclaw's eyes and openeded fire. 6 rounds of armor piercing rounds tore the Deathclaw to pieces. The hulking beast collapsed just before its middle talon reached Captain Hayes' face. Hale sat back. Hayes laid on his back, under the skulking and colossal corpse of the Deathclaw. Hayes chuckled.

"Live another day, I guess." Hayes muttered. Hsu still had his pistol raised.

"You there!" Hsu shouted. "Identify yourself!" Hale looked past the deathclaw.

"There's nothing there." Hale responded.

"Now!" Hsu shouted once more, with more intensity. A dark, slim figure approached the three soldiers. His hands were moving and a clapping sound began to fill the corridor. The man stepped into the light provided by Hsu's flashlight and continued clapping. The figure was a man who seemed to be wearing an altered version of the Enclave power armor.

"Now that was something!" the man said. "By far, that was the most successful result yet. After two hundred years of this, I had just about given up on finding the right candidate."

"What?" Hale asked. The man then proceeded to draw his pistol and shoot Colonel Hsu. The Colonel's body slumped forward. Hale barely had time to respond when another shot slammed into Hayes. Hale propped his gun up and fired once, the man stepped to the side, almost as if to dodge the round that was directed at him and fired once more.


	7. The Strange Host

_That's it. I'm done. I hate being knocked out._ Hale shook his head, as his vision began clearing. It was dark, Nathan noticed he was confined to some kind of table that stood vertically. There was dim light that allowed Nathan to see a little bit of his cell. He noticed a grey, round metal door directly in front of him. Above him were tools and mechanical arms that held a plethora of medical tools. _I'm in an Auto-Doc._ Now Nathan was nervous, he had seen what an Auto-Doc could do to a person. He had once met a person who had her vocal cords ripped out by one in—

"Hey, you all right in there?" a voice called. The voice's owner banged on the door as he spoke his question. The Auto-Doc shook with each time the man's fist collided with the Auto-Doc. "Huh?" the voice said, seemingly to another's. "Oh yeah. That's stupid of me to ask when they're unconscious. I'll get him out." _Oh shit. No, wait!_

The door slid open and the light blinded Hale. He had been in a dark maze with God knows what for three days; this would be the first time since before then would Hale see natural sunlight. Hale instinctively tried to move his hand to cover his eyes, groaning as the sunlight continued to blind him.

"Boss, this one's awake." The voice spoke once more.

"Excellent, bring him over please." Another voice, Nathan guessed it as the one the first voice spoke to while Nathan was inside the Auto-Doc. The surgical table shook slightly and Nathan felt his body be lifted and began rolling. Nathan's vision began clearing again. _The hell is wrong with my eyes, again?_ He thought. Nathan shook his arms in an attempt to free himself. _No good. Fresh leather strips. These guys know what they're doing._ Nathan looked up as he felt the table stop rolling. There was a man who sat in a chair, wearing a Pre-War, cleaned and pressed suit. The man was facing a window which allowed the view of the entire canyon that made up the south side of the Colorado Springs Facility. The view was staggering, even distracting Nathan from the dire situation he was in.

"I see you are enjoying the view." The man in the suit spoke warmly.

"Yes, sir. It's not often you get to see such a beautiful view." Nathan remarked. The sun was beginning to set. The canyon was tan colored and filled with trees that grew here and there. A river ran through the bottom with Bighorner herds swarming it for a drink of water. The area was a paradise. The man in the chair sighed with content. He had a lit cigar in his mouth and held a glass of whiskey.

"Anders, release this fine gentleman here." The man spoke sternly, without ever taking his gaze off the setting sun. The fire-red sun was the only source of light in the room, causing the grey room to give off an orange tint. The man took a large breath of the cigar and sipped the whiskey.

"Of course, sir." Anders spoke. The voice came from behind Nathan. Nathan felt his restraints loosen and eventually fall off. Nathan stepped off the table and rubbed his arms.

"Please, sit." The man said once more, waving his glass hand at a chair next to him. Nathan eyed the man carefully and walked slowly towards the chair. He was wore a black tuxedo, the type you would rarely see in the Wasteland anymore. It was the type that was common in the Angel's Boneyard. The Boneyard used to be called Los Angeles and was home to one of the largest fashion industries in the world at the time. The black tux was a luxury even Pre-War American civilian could barely afford and this man wore them as if they were his everyday clothes. The suit was pressed and clean; it seemed the man had a tailor. The suit seemed to be pristine and in good condition, did this obviously wealthy man have a tailor that knows some of the Pre-War secrets of manufacturing clothing? "Don't worry, old sport, I'm not armed." The man sighed and took another sip of the whiskey.

"I wasn't worried about you being armed, sir." Nathan said calmly and smiled as he sat in the chair. _Even the fucking chair feels comfortable and new, what the hell?_ Nathan frowned. "If you wanted me dead, I would be. Wouldn't I?"

"Hmm." The man grunted and waved his glass hand. Another man, Anders, stepped forward and opened the bottom drawer of a desk that lay next to the well-dressed man. He produced a new bottle of whiskey, opened it, and poured a small amount into the glass. "Thank you, Anders." The man smiled. "Do you know who I am?" The man finally looked at Nathan. His grey eyes were cold, as if he had killed a man or if he were hiding something very important.

"No."

"Interesting." The man's gaze never left Nathan's eyes. He waved Anders over. Anders, a hulking brute of a man, stepped forward once again. Anders leaned forward and the two men began whispering. Nathan looked around the room and noticed the ceiling was a pristine, marble white. The walls were titanium grey with a few furnishings and paintings that made the room a little more appealing. The floor however was of a royal purple carpet, there were a few dark stains that riddled the floor in various places and there was one long dark stain that lead to another room. The sun had set by now and the canyon outside was barely visible. Clouds were made red by the setting sun.

"Lights on." A disembodied voice spoke and the lights in the room switched on. The room began to hum and a mini securitron rolled in carrying a tray of refreshments. _More drinks?_ As the man spoke with Anders, he reached down without looking and picked up a mug before the securitron slowed to a stop.

"Understood, sir." Anders mumbled. Nathan tried to look around the bulk of Ander's body, but the man was too big and had completely covered the other man.

"Now, Mr. Hale. Shall we get down to business?" the man asked as Anders stepped back into the shadows once more. The man sipped his beverage and sighed.

"Of course. Before we begin may I ask your name?" Nathan inquired. The man raised an eyebrow, as if the question had surprised him. He cleared his throat, motioned for the securitron and dropped the mug onto the tray. From the height of which it fell, Hale expected the mug to fall over and spill its contents, but the mug landed perfectly on the tray and not a drop of liquid was spilled. _Strange._ Nathan thought. The man stood and buttoned his coat and paced around the room, Nathan began to stand as well, but Anders motioned for him to stay.

"Before I tell you my name, first I must ask you: What do you think of the Old World?" the man inquired, stopping by a painting of some park or field, people lined all over in the picture. Nathan couldn't tell but it seemed to consist of thousands of tiny dots. Nathan thought the question over.

"Depends. I could say that in Pre-War times the Old World must've been a paradise, but I've been to too many Pre-War locations that have made me reconsider." Nathan responded. He thought of the times he spent at the Sierra Madre and Big Mt.

"Please," the man spoke once more, his gaze never leaving the painting. "go on."

"Well, I've been to this facility. It's not too different from this one and it was supposed to be a research facility for the Pre-War America's greatest minds. It was called—"

"Big Mountain." The man spoke, now moving to another painting. He passed a lamp as he made his way to the next painting. He seemed to be moving from painting to painting.

"How did you know it was called 'Big Mountain' and not 'Big Empty'?" Nathan inquired. The man shrugged, fixing a painting. The man took out a small silver lighter and flicked it to produce a spark. As the lighter sparked, the man brought out a cigarette and lit it.

"I know quite a few things Mr. Hale, continue." The man spoke again.

"The research they conducted there on fellow human beings, it was appalling. I had always thought the Old World America would be this place of exemplary conduct; an example for the world for its principles. All Big Mt. seemed to do was crush every image I had ever had of America." Nathan said, remembering how he spent his childhood dreaming of leaving in America before the war.

"Well, fine. You seem to have a fair judgement and a crushed view of the United States. It seems to you pass, Mr. Hale. Anders, lower you weapon." The man spoke and turned around. Nathan turned around, Anders had a .45 pistol leveled at the base of Hale's neck. Anders holstered his weapon and nodded, before stepping back into the shadows for the final time without a word. "It seems I have been a poor leader as of late and I take full responsibility." _What the hell does that mean?_ "But you should know that I am George Young, the last President of the United States of America."

"Wait, what?!"


	8. Vague Explanations

"Okay wait. This is has to be bull." Nathan chuckled. George smiled. "You can't be the last President. The last one was Richardson and he was from the Enclave. Anyone who grew up near NCR territory would know that." George chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Yes, I understand. This is hard to believe, old sport but I am not of the Enclave. The Enclave was an emergency measure created by President Williams in 2070. In 2073 the United States government acquired Poseidon Oil and was renovated by Williams as the Enclave Headquarters. It was supposed to house the best and brightest of America's populace but unfortunately other matters busied President Williams and while he was preoccupied his Vice President filled the Poseidon Station with Political Allies, friends and family. There were quite a few people that had been selected by Williams but the leadership was filled with corrupt politicians and friends of Vice-President Jackson. However, Jackson never made it to Poseidon Oil. Williams activated Protocol Safeguard and the all Enclave personnel that was already selected and screened were deported to the station." George spoke quickly and confidently.

"How do you know this for sure?" Nathan asked. "Any of this to be exact? This sounds just like the fake stories and myths that circle around the Wastes!" George smiled sheepishly.

"Easy, I was there." George murmured.

"What?" Nathan pressed. "Do you mean to tell me that everything I inquired from the techs at Big Mountain were lying to me about the Old World?!"

"What do you mean, I wonder?" George pressed, now smirking.

"I pressed them for every bit of information that I could squeeze out of their diseased minds and their personal reflections were the concluding evidence on my loss of faith in the Old World." Nathan grumbled.

"Excellent." George stated simply. "That gives me some breathing room. The ignorant scientists have yet to reveal all of my secrets." George flashed a smile and waved his hand again. He had finished his cigarette and was now once again searching for something to keep him busy. As if he could not stand the action of being idle. George grabbed the mug from the tray on the mini securitron and sipped from it. "There is something I have to show you to prove to you that I have been alive prior to the Great War. I can prove to you why I am alive and it is up to you o decide whether or not I have truly lived for such a long time. Follow, now." George finished his drink and dropped the mug onto his desk. He reached under and pressed something. The grey wall opened and a portion of it dissolved into the ceiling. George watched it disappear. A large blue computer screen and keyboard moved forward and surrounded the desk. George pressed his hand on the screen and it flashed a brilliant white before returning to its sky blue color.

"IDENTITY CONFIRMED. WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT." Words began to flash on the screen. The disembodied voice returned to echo the phrase as the entire room whirred to life. Walls began moving and the room seemed to get taller. Nathan tapped his foot on the floor and realized that the floor was slowly moving down rather than the room was getting bigger. George began whistling a tune it was one that George was not familiar to. Nathan searched the room for Anders but the brute had disappeared. Computer terminals had replaced all the furniture in the room and the large blue computer terminal was surrounded by more terminal screens and computers for each screen.

"I'm afraid it isn't as impressive as it once was. Technology does not last long with constant use, I've managed by jury-rigging computer terminals that Anders has acquired for me to keep my personal computer running." George muttered. He was once again searching for something to keep him busy. Nathan stepped forward.

"You call a computer the size of a wall not impressive?" Nathan gaped. George nodded grimly.

"Computer display NORAD schematics. Authorization: Hephaestus." George said. The computer began flashing images and fine text that Nathan could not read from where he stood. He continued forward. George's back faced Nathan.

"No need to move forward, Mr. Hale. The computer has already broadcasted the information to your Pip-Boy." George muttered once again. For some odd reason George's tone had suddenly become grim, as if he had a hard releasing such documents to a person like Nathan. Additionally, George had never turned his body or his head. _How did he know I was walking forward?_ Nathan wondered as he looked at his Pip-Boy. The old machine given to Nathna by Doc Mitchell from Goodsprings was now clean, shining and was flashing the same blue images and text from George's terminal. "There is a lot you will need to learn in the next few hours. I suggest you take a seat." George spoke. Now he was speaking louder once again, not like he was whispering.

"Why?" Nathan asked. George turned, his gaze was indifferent and unfocused compared to what it was when Hale was questioned about his views on the Old World.

"Hmm?"

"You've obviously had these for sometime. I've noticed a pair of NCR dogtags hidden on your desk over there and you have a ham radio in the corner of the room with a map of United States color-coded and marked with NCR positions, territories, stations, safehouses, and numerous broadcast codes. Why didn't you warn us about this facility?" Nathan asked. George raised an eyebrow.

"Very perceptive, Mr. Hale. Yes I have had contact with NCR for years now; I have provided with countless tidbits of information to lead them here. A breadcrumb trail if you will. I could never lead them here with direct contact, I always had to rely on messengers, paid couriers, and undercover spies of mine to get the information back to the capital but eventually they made their way here." George responded. He stepped forward. Nathan noticed the lights were off, only the computer terminals and George's computer with its blue light illuminated the dark room. "You question whether or not I am telling the truth, but you have never given me a chance to explain myself. Look at the schematics." Nathan's gaze left George's and back onto the Pip-Boy. He noticed patterns and locations that seemed familiar to him.

"The maze, it activated on accident wasn't it?" Nathan asked.

"Very good." George responded. "Yes, it was. The Legion, in attempting to pry open the vault in order to seize technology that would enable them to crush the NCR activated a failsafe security program. The maze was originally a test of sorts for soldiers of the United States. I was one such soldier."

"I thought you said you were the President."

"Let me get to that. It was take some explaining and this probably seems very confusing to you. I have taken the liberty of assigning Anders to have provided you basic background information. It is all on your Pip-Boy. Now, first. I will explain how I became President."


	9. The Plot Thickens

"Are you understanding anything that I have said at all?" George asked.

"Nope."

"Where did I lose you?"

"From when you said you were the President of the United States."

"I see… Anders, status report… I see.. Right… Well fix it… Okay.. Then turn it off for God's sake we're confusing the poor man. Okay. Good. Return to the office when you are done. Okay where were we?"

"How I'm confused about everything."

"Ah, right. I wish I could spare you the backstory but I'm afraid for everything to make sense I must start with my childhood."

"Fine then."

"I was born 2049 in Los Angeles, California. You now call it the Angel's Boneyard but I once called it home. I grew up there in the poor part of Los Angeles. Not everyone was rich, I will have you know. My parents because they were Chinese were looked down upon by many due to the People's Republic and its relations with the United States. One day, I was walking home from school; I was eight years old the time and found a mob standing in front of my home. My father was outside holding his arms up and speaking to the mob. He seemed to be talking them down when somebody raised a firearm and fire on my father. Then, the mob panicked, after all they were all accomplices to a murder. The police would never have been able to figure out who did what with the amount of people that were there, but people weren't thinking at that time. They threw my father inside out house and I heard my mother scream and sob. Then they burned the house down with my parents inside. I will never forget that day. Afterwards, I took to the streets; where else could I go? At the tender age of 10 I was indoctrinated into the Golden Dragons gang for some stupid gang war that had erupted on the corners and streets of East Los Angeles. They never thought beat me to get me in, they just needed bodies; cannon fodder if you will. Very quickly, the opposing gangs learned my natural talent for tactics. I learned much with the Dragons. I learned how to steal, construct weapons, mostly I learned how to fight. I became an expert marksman with both a pistol and a rifle and also learned the art of sword-fighting. Though I am Chinese, I preferred the katana. Nothing sharper than a katana. Shame you have so much trouble finding one these days, they have to be sharpened often after all. I suppose that people who used the blades as weapons learned quickly that the swords dulled fast, very fast. I guess that it became a choice to care for the weapon or salvage it for scrap metal. Waste of good metal." George sighed and reached into his coat pocket. He produced a tin flask, undid the cap and took a swig of whatever he was drinking now. Anders had returned and stood brooding by the doorway.

"Naturally, when the sword or the gun would not be available I would need to use my hands. With the dragons, their talent came from how they fought with their fists. Always minimized the amount of deaths for a gang; ours and any others. But to the police we were all the same. The gang war went on for years with some New Plague scared the public into hiding. It was 2065. I was sixteen years old and the leader of the Golden Dragons. The gang wars of Los Angeles had been going on for 2 year at the time but the police did a good job of cleaning up. The war never made national news. Then they called in the big gun, 2,500 SWAT operatives and an additional 3,000 police officers attacked the Dragon's headquarters in Chinatown. Why so many you ask? Because he had been under siege for three days by six other rival gangs. This time, we had bullied the city one too many times. With my affinity for tactics and skills in combat, the Dragons fared very well, until snipers became involved. I didn't want any more dead friends. Half of the dragons had been killed during the siege and another three fourths of what remained had been killed as well. I surrendered and so did my dragons. An officer from the military had volunteered to assist with the operation and saw how I lead my men. He liked the way I worked and offered me two choices. I go to jail for the rest of my life or work with him in the Army. I opted for the one that would keep me out of jail. I had made too many enemies. By 2066, thanks to my new identity and my benefactor, General Constantine Chase I was a sergeant in the United States Army. I had a new life, new friends, and renewed purpose. China had just invaded Anchorage. Much of Alaska was torn in between by the fighting. I expected to see action on the front lines. But they assigned to me to a different course of mission at home in the United States."

"Sir." Another man's cut through George's long monologue. Nathan blinked, this was too much. _How can this guy be that old? House is that old, but he had some kind of stasis pod and he looked terrible._ Nathan turned his head. There stood, next to Anders was a dark-skinned man with a deep scowl. He was tall, taller than Anders. This man had to duck to avoid the top of the door. George frowned and stood. He buttoned his jacket and briskly walked towards the man.

"John, what is it? I explicitly ordered you that I was not to be interrupted." George whispered. Anders whispered to him. George looked at John in disbelief. John nodded slowly. George nodded to both men and allowed the men to step back. George took off his jacket and made his way to the blue monitor.

"Computer. Activate Protocol Atlas." George firmly spoke.

"Command accepted."

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Nathan asked. George turned to Nathan and began rolling up his sleeves. The blue monitor's light passed around George's form creating a silhouette.

"I'm sorry, old sport. But out meeting will be cut short today. I'll speak with you later. There are some matters that I must deal with before attending you. Do think about what I have told you, yes?" George smiled as he spoke. Nathan frowned. The room began opening up even more than it already had revealing a suit of power armor. Nathan tried to look but Anders blocked his view.

"It's time to leave, sir." Anders grunted. Nathan glowered at the man.

"Where are we going?" Anders rolled his eyes. Obviously he didn't have time to answer Nathan's questions, but Nathan had too many of them. Anders motioned for him to stand and Nathan complied. Anders pressed a tile on the wall and another section revealed itself to be a passage into darkness.


	10. Intricate Musings

Nathan sat in his wooden chair. The suite that had been awarded to him was quite large. Larger than House's penthouse in fact.

"I wonder how that old man is doing. I do need to take the time to visit him. He may have a new contract for me." Nathan beamed as he sipped his beverage. Anders stood somberly near the main doors. Nathan frowned. "I do wonder how long it has been since our team went missing. They must be worried back home in Goodsprings." Nathan murmured. He wiped his Pip-Boy's screen. Over the course of Nathan's stay he had developed a nasty habit of wiping the screen when he was nervous or restless. It was unbecoming of him. _Too much damn sitting around, I suppose._ Nathan carefully watched Anders as he studied the room. Anders placed a finger to his ear. He looked unnerved.

"Sir?" He whispered. "Yes, sir. Of course. We'll make it happen. I'll get Mitchell right on it. Of course, sir." Anders continued mumbling until Nathan lost interest. _I need to locate Hayes and Hsu. They're both hurt, they need medical attention._ Nathan furrowed his brow planning his escape and as if on cue, Anders placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Just wanted to let you know. Colonel Hsu is in stable condition, the Auto-Doc procedure was successful and he is scheduled to begin rehabilitation tomorrow morning. Additionally, Captain Hayes had hisarm replaced. It was a synthetic replacement of course, but so long as he doesn't mind it too much, it will function as good as his arm before he lost it." Nathan blinked twice. Anders smirked as if he knew what Nathan was planning.

"So don't worry, the President would like you to relax as much as possible. Enjoy the scenery, sit back and enjoy the furnishings we've provided for you here." Anders stated calmly. Nathan set his gaze upon the red velvet carpet. He had been planning on how he was going to disable anyone who would have gotten in his way in order to get to Hsu and Hayes, but it turned out that they would be fine without him. Nathan looked up once again and realized that for the long time he had spent in his new room, he had not taken a good look at it. The floor was covered by red velvet carpet that was cleaner than anything back in the Lucky 38. The suite was enormous, with half-walls made of cedar wood and paneling to create an illusion of separate, private rooms. There was a wooden door that probably would have led to a master bedroom. Numerous paintings and photographs filled the dark red walls. Why red was so prominent in the room escaped Nathan, but the paintings were breath-taking. Most were portraits, likely those of American officials and congressman, but there was one of George and a woman. Nathan stood up and got out of his chair to take a better look. It seemed Anders and the other man standing guard noticed him and the other man stepped to intercept before Anders stopped him. Nathan walked until he was just a breath away from the enormous painting which took up a large portion of paneling right next to the door to the master bedroom. A golden frame surrounded the picture, it shone brightly in the light, even though the light came from artificially fluorescent bulbs to simulate sunlight. Nathan interested by the picture. The background of the painting was a mixture of red and black. In the middle painting itself, stood George, younger and beaming with happiness. A stupid grin exploded from his face which involved all facial muscles. His brows, lips, and even eyes were all involved in his expression. Though it was a painting and likely it did not capture a lot of the happiness he was feeling, the painting was sufficient. George wore a black suit, identical to the one Nathan had just seen him wearing a little while ago. He stood above a woman in a white dress and black hair sitting in a wooden chair. George's hands were placed on the woman's shoulders, she wore the same beaming grin that George wore.

"Do you like the painting?" George's disembodied voice called from somewhere behind Nathan. Nathan turned and saw George at the minibar at the corner of the suite. The bar was stocked with all assortments of liquor and beverages that Nathan had never seen before. George was balanced a cigarette on his lips, its tip was smoking. George worked quickly, gathering various bottles of liquor and pouring himself a cocktail of various drinks.

"I find it very…" words failed Nathan.

"No need." George gestured at the drink. Nathan nodded. George nodded and began work on a second cup. Nathan fixed his gaze once again on the painting. George was soon by Nathan's side holding a drink in either hand. He motioned a cup in his left hand and Nathan took it. Nathan sipped it, somehow though George had mixed together all sorts of liquor, it was surprisingly light. George took his cigarette from his mouth and flicked it away before downing his drink in a few gulps. "That was the best day of my life." George whispered.

"Who is she?" Nathan asked. George placed his cup on the end table under the painting.

"My wife." George said as he began patting himself all over. "Could've sworn." It was then that Nathan realized that George wasn't wearing his black coat and only wore a white shirt with the top button left undone and the sleeves rolled up. Nathan frowned and the thought daunted on him that level of skill it required to paint this picture was in high demand but the artisans of the painting trade were almost non-existent.

"We have no one this good anywhere in the Mojave. Even back home in the NCR there are few people who have this kind of skill painting." Nathan commented. "Who painted it?"

"I don't remember." George murmured as he balanced a cigarette in between two fingers and produced a lighter in his right palm. Nathan stared at the painting and listened as George sparked the lighter to light his cigarette. "Please take a seat. We still have much to discuss." George sighed after a long puff on his cigarette. Nathan sat in an armchair that faced the painting and George sat with his back facing the painting.

"What do we need to discuss?" Nathan asked. George nodded and waved his right hand at Anders.

"I'm sure you have many doubts and questions. You may ask three now." George said.

"Are you really as old as you say?"

"Yes."

"How are you still alive?"

"Very good question." George held up his index finger and Nathan saw Anders place a holodisk on the coffee table that separated the two men. Anders stepped back and began to type onto his Pip-Boy. The holodisk was attached to some device that sat on the glass surface of the table. The disk lit up and began to display holographic images.

"In order to explain how I have lived this long, I will need to explain everything to you. The hidden technological advances, the reason that I was chosen for Presidency, everything. Do you understand? If you don't like a long history lecture this is time to say so and we can continue this conversation later at a slower pace." Nathan nodded.

"Please, continue. I am genuinely interested." _The things I saw back in California convinced me the United States was hiding a lot of things, but even the plans for some of their top-secret assets never included the tech capable of the kind that George is describing._

"There are many factors that play into my prolonged vitality. One of which was the New Plague which had hit Colorado. I was a soldier at the time and we were sent to the city for quarantine containment and control. Unfortunately, due to terrible and faulty intel, my squad and myself became infected. I am oversimplifying many details but you will have to bear with me, I am not quite yet inclined to reveal to you all of my government's secrets." _Yet you're willing to reveal this to me?_

"The government was worried. They knew that the threat of war with the Chinese was very real and they needed infantry to fight the Chinese and quell the resistance that would come from their plans for Canada. They contracted West-Tek with creating a virus to destroy the New Plague."

"The FEV, right? Forced Evolutionary Virus?" Nathan pitched in. George nodded.

"I'm sure you are aware that this is the compound that created the race of Super Mutants and changed the animal life that once lived in the continental United States?" Nathan nodded grimly. He could only remember the loud crack when the Super Mutant in the maze broke Colonel Hsu's back.

"Well, don't fret. They were infected with was diluted strain. The full effects were never included into the Super Mutants and as such produce a much smaller threat." George stated simply.

"Wait, what? The FEV that was provided to the Mariposa military facility and the Vaults were…"

"Diluted? Weaker? Yes to both. You see, old sport, FEV is some extremely expensive material to create. It was all synthetic and if someone messed up one part of the process, the whole batch would be ruined. As such, President Wilson, the man before me, God bless his soul; decided that it would be in America's best interests to begin to experiment with smaller and weaker doses to increase output. The full batch and the stronger stuff is definitely much more dangerous than anything provided to the Vaults and Mariposa."

"What could be worse than a Super Mutant?" George's gaze darkened.

"A lot of things. For example, the mark III schematic." George grunted. The image changed. Images of military facilities and genetic sequences changed to blueprints and sketches of what looked like a slimmed down version of the T-45d Power armor. "It is common misconception, especially among Wastelanders, that the T-51b was much more effective than the T-45d suit. The T-51b was simply cheaper and provided the wearer more mobility. The T-45d was bulkier and slower due to more protective armor plating and therefore much more expensive to produce. The bulky, slow protection provided buy the 45d model was perfect for Alaskan operations. The power cell located in the dorsal valve provided a convenient heating system and was optimized for wide, flat battlegrounds. However, that bulky exterior was next to useless in the swamps and enclosed jungle which troops became pinned down in during many operations in the Chinese mainland. Even so, T-45d battalions never lost most than six casualties for the entirety of the offensive. Unfortunately, even so, we needed something to provide soldiers with extra mobility. As such, I had Chryslus and West-Tek begin solo operations and designs for a new, much more mobile suit. They came up with the Mark III. In truth, it was the Mark II, but the Mark II was simply too costly. Essentially, the armor utilized the idea of Mister Handy's durable and self-repairing shell and the synthetic flesh of the android technology that MIT was so desperately studying. The design resulted in a much more fluid and responsive armor system, it was much thinner than the 45d. It would be worn like clothes and the wearer would apply additional armor plating above it. Unfortunately, the design seemed to unorthodox and utilized too many moving parts. US HighCom decided on placing the extra armor plating onto a prototype of the T47c and saw how effective the new fusion was. The high mobility of the Mark III was not enough; they believed America's citizens needed a more "knight in shining armor" look for the upcoming war."

"But I was President at the time so I decided to still push for the project. I managed to acquire a battalion eager to test the new type of armor, but there was a slight miscalculation. The armor was too responsive and as a result moved too fast for the wearer. The wearer was simply not fast enough or strong enough to use the armor effectively. Soldiers were too used to the 'hard suits' and I was left with a problem. I needed soldiers who were stronger and faster than the average American G.I. Luckily I had scrapped assets of the US American Son program still on ice from previous years."

"American Son?" Nathan asked. George's gaze darkened once again. George sighed and stood from his seat in the sofa. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his black slacks. He began pacing around the sofa.

"This having explain everything is getting old. I hope you're not annoyed with all this, old sport, but it is necessary for the job I have prepared for you." _Job?_ "I hate long lectures. You're sure you haven't tired from this?" George was facing the painting, only a few feet away from it.

"No. No. Please, continue." Nathan murmured, rubbing his temple with his right hand.

"When the United States of America divided itself among thirteen commonwealths, the federal government was essentially split into its various departments as well. Questions began to arise on which department would hold power in the federal government. Obviously it is the executive branch of government but it wouldn't work too well if there were thirteen separate commonwealths distributing its resources differently and enforcing laws independently. There needed to be a way to bypass the voting system of old. A way where the government could always have a President whose first thought was for the safety and benefit of his country. They the Office of Secret Services drafted and proposed the American Son program. At this points the potent and fully concentrated FEV was still being tested and the proposal was rewritten to include the FEV into its indoctrination. The idea was that it would take the military's best troops and officers; the basis was out patriotism and our aptitude for combat. Of course, the external skills and personality traits were all they screened for. They also took countless blood tests to ensure that only the best genetic prospects could be selected for Office. They took 1,500 soldiers from each branch of the military and tested the concentrated FEV by infecting us all with it. Not a single person died from it. No one became heavily mutated, there were few complications. The only complication I am currently aware of after researching into the research files personally, was the augmentation and transformative process of FEV infection was one man had grown a full two feet in height, but one of his legs became horribly mangled and deformed by the transformation. However, though physically impaired, he managed to pass the examinations and screenings and never washed out of the program. He was not chosen to serve in Office, much to his dismay, but he still performed quite well."

"So the FEV didn't turn anybody into Super Mutants?" Nathan pressed.

"No. Like I said, they have the diluted form, where countless other chemicals were added by West-Tek scientists and Vault-Tec engineers to try to recreate similar effects. To elaborate of the transformation process, it essentially performed similarly to how a Super Mutant becomes a Super Mutant. Muscle mass is increased dramatically and the person retains cognitive functions. However, the pure FEV actually improved such functions to unprecedented and therefore uncharted levels. Personally, the physical transformations for myself were not as dramatic as many of my fellow soldiers, but my brain however," he tapped his head as he turned away from the portrait. He held his right hand on the hand of his bride in the portrait while tapping his temple with his left.

"I was always at the top of my class, and I do believe that I will let details regarding my transformation stay there. Nevertheless, each prospect had been transformed and was ready for a field test. However, thought Vault-Tec existed and were in the middle of constructing Vault 87 and other various vaults all over the country, the federal government neither had the resources to construct a new training center nor the funds to contract Vault-Tec with constructing one. So President Wilson turned to the NORAD facility. While it would still serve as the President's fallout shelter should nuclear war become a possibility it would also serve as the home of the American Son program." George was back at the minibar pouring himself another drink. _Jesus, how much can this guy drink?_

"The maze that you and your team had unfortunately been cornered into, was the easier part of the qualifications. After passing and proving your worth physically and mentally, OSS agents would test you patriotism to its breaking point. I will not disclose what I had to endure during the second stage of the program." George sipped his scotch. "Nor will I ever." Hie dark gaze turned to Nathan. Nathan felt a chill travel down his spine. George blinked and checked his Pip-Boy.

"Good God, is it already that time of day?" George asked. His friendly persona had returned, gone was the dark George who was explaining his past to Nathan. "Anders, notify the staff that Mr. Hale will be staying in the Presidential suite and please bring Mr. Hale, his companions. Ensure that they are comfortable, unfortunately, they may need to stay with us for a prolonged amount of time." George downed his drink and wiped his hands with hand towel. George stepped away from the minibar and made for the exit door.

"George." Nathan called.

"Yes, Mr. Hale?" he responded, turning his torso mid-stride.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Nathan asked. George paled and scowled as if the very question offended him. "You will know in due time, Mr. Hale. Good day." George strode out quickly closely followed by Anders. Another man replaced Anders and the doors slammed shut.


	11. The NCR Side of Things

Sorry it took so long to get this out and sorry that it's so short too. I'm a high school student busy with SAT and IB stuff. So I hope this isn't too bad and you stay tuned. I've got some stuff planned that I think is interesting but it might take my time while I'm studying for my SAT.

Moore straightened her dress uniform as she exited the vertibird. It was an honor, really, being able to ride one of the few left in the NCR's fleet of flying vehicles. The Second Battle had taken a large toll on the NCR war marchine, only now almost 4 years after the devasting Second Battle of Hoover Dam was the NCR war machine beginning to recover. Moore cleared her throat and grabbed her clipboard and suitcase. She strode towards the hangar office and nodded to a Lieutenant who saluted her as she approached. Moore felt bad, her hands were full and she could not relieve the man. Moore strode pass him and mouthed a _sorry_ , one of the few times she would ever need to utter the word. Moore glanced at the prominent NCR MP presence at the air field. This was supposed to a covert meeting, one only between her and Kimball. The larger amount of officers on the discreet airfield made Moore nervous, more so than she should be. Moore shook her head and continued to make her way to the office.

When she finally reached the tan, sun-bleached door, Moore took a deep breath. _Nothing to worry about. I'm only meeting the President._ Moore pushed the door open and inside the office sat General Lee Oliver with a brand-new tan dress uniform complete with golden pauldrons on his shoulders and medals all over his right breast. Moore turned and saw President Aaron Kimball, who was now looking much worse for wear since she had last seen him. His temples were graying and his eyes were those of an exhausted man. Moore placed her things onto the table and saluted the President.

"Moore, please sit." Kimball spoke first, breaking the quiet tension. Moore sat in a wooden chair opposite from the President with Kimball to her right. She noticed the plethora of guards in the room.

"Colonel Moore. Good to see you, how was Colorado?" Lee asked.

"Could have been better." Moore responded curtly.

"It seems that in your report," Olliver rolled the sentence over his toungue, "that Colonel Hsu went MIA with a team of some of the NCR's best." Olliver glared.

"Yes, sir. It was routine op and Hsu had a hunch that the old US NORAD outpost would be too important and dangerous to skip as we made our way towards Denver." Moore responded.

"So, please tell me. Who exactly went missing on this team, of yours?" Olliver said.

"Hsu's, actually, sir." Moore corrected him.

"Hsu, then." Moore read the names off his clipboard.

"Private Michael Jenkins, Private Elliot Fitzgerald, Sergeant Frederic McGee, Lieutenant Nathan Hale, Captain Franklin Hayes, and Colonel James Hsu." Moore read the list and glanced over the names. She had already committed them to memory.

"How did these men happen to go missing, Colonel?" Olliver asked coldly. His cold eyes bore into Moore's. Luckily, she was just as cold.

"I don't know." Moore responded.

"You don't know. Well that's just great, Cassandra." Oliver growled. "First, you managed to lose a team of Tier One Operatives. Second, you managed to lose the NCR's most promising officer and field commander." Moore growled. "Third, you also managed to lose the fucking Courier! The man, who apparently couldn't be killed did. By Colonel Cassandra Fucking Moore!" Oliver shouted.

"Oliver! Enough!" Kimball shouted, He rubbed his eyes. "Colonel Moore, this lost is devastating to the people of the NCR, especially to those in our frontier colonies. Their one big hope is what the Courier stands for. He's the idea that for any of the idiots and loose cannons out in the Wastes who fancies themselves a badass, that the folks in the frontier's got a bigger one."

"With all due respect, sir. You think that I don't know that?!" Moore growled.

"I understand, Colonel. But the people need a hero. At this rate, we're going to need one. Negotiations with the so-called resurgent nation are not going well. Just last week alone, one of our lieutenants got into a fight with one of their guards patrolling the NORAD facility, demanding to know where the men were." Oliver grunted in kind.

"This is all I need to know, Moore." Kimball cut into Oliver's rant before he could make it up. "If our boys are in there, we will storm that base and kill anyone who gets in our way. No body kidnaps soldiers from the NCR and gets away with it."

"Understood, sir." Moore responded.

"Good. Take care of it or I will send someone who can." Kimball turned and fixed a portrait of himself on the wall. Moore gulped. She stood, promptly saluted and walked out the door and back into the heat. Oliver was smirking while she left.


	12. Battle of Red Rock Canyon

Standing over the canyon, Nathan saw the movement of Legionaries, a huge army was headed for the NCR forward operating base. George had finally decided to allow Nathan to leave in order to start negotiation for the release of Colonel Hsu and Captain Hayes. Nathan loaded a full magazine into his .50 sniper rifle. Looking through the scope, Nathan was able to see Legionaries in power armor, combat armor, whatever they scrounged up. The whole canyon was filled with them. Anders walked forward next to Nathan and looked through his binoculars.

"Those are a lot of men." Anders commented.

"Yes, there are." Nathan remarked, he searched the canyon looking for any signs of a organization. Then he spotted it. The golden helmet of Legate Lanius as he marched alongside his Praetorians. The Legion may have lost their holdings in the Mojave and most of their land, but that was because Lanius was off leading the bulk of their army on a prolonged campaign in Mexico. The NCR was hoping that the Kingdom would be able to hold out, but judging by the swelled numbers. The Kingdom was no more.

"Who's goldie?" Anders asked.

"Lanius. He's the legate, though I wouldn't be surprised if he's named himself the new Caesar." Nathan muttered. "Killed countless men, managed to wipe out a few hit-squads of Ranger Vets that I've sent after him."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Were they good?"

"The best. I trained them all personally. Especially for this mission in particular."

"What was the mission?"

"To eliminate Lanius."

"I take it they were never successful." Anders turned swiftly on his heel. "Lucky for you, my men are also well-trained."

"I doubt as good as my Rangers." Nathan smirked. Anders turned back and shot Nathan back a rare grin.

"Better." Anders stood in front of the squad assigned to escort Nathan. "Men! Form up!" Six men rushed from their resting positions, to their feet, and then in line in front of Anders. They all wore the signature-NORAD T-visored helmet with a fusion of combat and power armor that George designed. The armor is heavy, meaning the ability for these men to move swiftly and with agility takes a great deal of strength. George tells me these men are clones. _I still don't believe that._ I've yet to see these men in action, but something tells me that they will be impressive. The armor is designed to provide a great deal of protection while enabling full mobility. Somehow, George worked in some kind of armor weaving into the cloth of their faitgues and then layered some strangely fused combat armor and aluminum plating and steel to form this strange and highly durable alloy that makes up most of the armor.

"Alright gentlemen, here's the plan. The NCR's FOB is ten clicks south of our position, but we found a Legion army headed straight in their direction. I don't think the Legion knows that the FOB is there, but they've managed to find and enter the one damn canyon that leads to the FOB. When I was there, it was poorly defended and equipped because our forces have been stretched thin. With the six months that I've been gone, a lot may have happened. Here's what I'm thinking, the NCR know you have me and we are supposed to head to the base for a debriefing and negotiation. The Legion is here, I will lead an offensive that will attempt to slow them down by setting charges here and here." Nathan pointed at two specific points on the canyon. "I will take three men and try to slow their advance long enough for the sufficient charges to be placed. Once we make it back to the rally point, we'll detonate the charges and make our way to the FOB. All the while, Anders and another man will head to the FOB to explain the situation." Nathan turned to Anders who nodded and quickly slipped on his own T-visored black helmet. All of the men were clad in black. Anders wore a more darkish grey with yellow highlights running down his shoulders and arms. His helmet was distinguished with a yellow line above the T and a yellow monocular attached to the right side of his helmet.

"Jesse, you're with me! Scorch, Hardcase! Get those explosives onto the rock bridge and set all the C-4 you can while the rest of you support Hale." Anders shouted before leaving with Jesse for the FOB. Nathan brought up my left wrist and tapped a brand new black button that had been added by George's technicians. A high-pitched whine of a jetpack that George designed filled the air, more whines joined the chorus as the other men began to activate theirs as well. It was made and improvised from a vertibird jet engine. All of George's men had been trained for combat operations with his invention while Nathan had not been.

"You ready, sir?" the man nicknamed Axe asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Nathan muttered. He looked down the cliff face. The Legion was not there yet. Nathan spotted a small cave, halfway up the opposite face of the canyon. "You, take up sniping position there!" The man nodded.

"Yes, sir." He nimbly hovered into the air before arcing straight into the cave. The man then laid himself prone and tore off the barrel of his gun before replacing it with a different, long barrel. The gun perplexed Nathan, Nathan was used to conventional firearms. Not the laser and plasma equipment handed out to George's private army. _Oh wait, there's a name for them. George likes to call them the Grand Army of the Republic. What a dumb name._ Nathan slipped on his trusty Ranger helmet and heard the helmet whine as it activated. Tapping button, Nathan felt himself spring into air and slowly made his way down the canyon wall.

"Sir! They just about in firing range. Permission to open fire?" Tup, the man in the cave asked.

"No! Let us make our positions first."

"Yes, sir."

"Sir, would you like us to set up some explosive ordinance along the route to slow their advance?"

"Do it!" Nathan said quickly. His jetpack cut out and Nathan freefell before catching hold of a ledge. His heart pounded as he pulled himself up. The other three men were on the ground already and setting up explosive defenses along the canyon walls. Hopefully, they'd be able to take out the suits of Power armor the Legion was now holding. Nathan leapt to another ledge and the nlet himself slide down the wall to the ground. Axe tossed the detonator to Nathan.

"Nice of you to join us, sir." Axe chuckled. The other two men laughed as well.

"Can it, you guys. They're here!" Tup's voice broke the laughter.

"Battle positions!" Nathan shouted. The clank of metal was becoming more prominent as the sound bommed along the canyon.

"Kix! Appo! Take up fire positions at those rock formations!" Axe shouted. The two men rushed behind the rocks. Nathan crouched behind tall rock in the center of the path while Axe moved to Kix's position.

"Tup! Do you have a visual on Lanius?"

"I think so, sir!"

"Take the shot!" Tup aime carefully, allowing himself enough time to rest the crosshairs at Lanius's head. Tup placed his finger on the trigger of his rifle. Lanius's size made it difficult to aim properly. Tup pulled the trigger. Lanius's helmet flew into the air.

"Got 'im, sir!"

"Good, try to take out the Power Armored Centurions before they got here." The roaring of men began to drown out anything shout that Nathan could make on his own.

"Yes, sir!" Nathan could barely hear his voice. Men were screaming and the clank grew to shaking. Rocks crumbled as the stampede neared its way to the squad's position. Tup fired three times in a quick succession before pausing for a moment and then firing once again.

"There he is! Auxillary!" A voice shouted above the others. _Auxillary?_ A rocket shot its way towards Tup.

"Tup, incoming!" Nathan shouted. Tup saw it, he adjusted his aim and fired once more. The laser cleaved through the rocket, causing it to detonate several yards in front of the cave. Rocks shook from the roof of the cave. A small rock hit Tup's head.

"Tup?" Axe's voice came alive on the radio. Tup coughed and tapped his gauntlet.

"I'm still here, Axe."

"Good. We're pulling back to the second barricade position."

"Understood, sir!" Tup tapped his gauntlet once more and let the jetpack fly him straight into the air. He hovered for a second squeezing off three bursts before flying his way to the next position.

Nathan ducked as bullets flew past him. _I though Legionaries tried to stay away from guns._ Nathan drew That Gun and squeezed off a few rounds. A legionary collapsed and another took his place. Nathan turned and watched Axe and Kix cover one another while moving from cover to cover.

"Reloading!" Kix shouted. Axe held a laser pistol and fired straight into the head of one of the legionaries.

"I've got you covered, Kix. Just go!" Axe shouted and killed two more legionaries.

"We're running out of ammo, sir!" Appo shouted as he fed another fusion core into his gatling laser.

"Hold the line! Wait until we get confirmation from Hardcase and Scorch!" Axe shouted.

"Axe is right! The next position is the rock bridge, they cannot be interrupted with any kind of firefight while they plant the charges." Nathan shouted as a centurion charged him. Nathan rolled out of the way and lifted his pistol. Aiming for the head, Nathan tapped the trigger twice. The Centurion's chest flew back as the rounds slammed into his torso armor. The power armor made it difficult for Nathan to fight him. The centurion wielded a machete gladius and swung it crazily at Nathan. Nathan jumped back and ducked under the Centurion's attempted blows. The centurion leapt into the air and slammed back into the ground. Nathan stumbled and attempted to regain his footing. _Shit!_ All Nathan saw was the Gladius.

"I've got you, sir!" a voice called. A laser blast knocked the gladius out of the centurion's hand. The centurion growled and looked up. Tup flew out of the sky and kicked the centurion's helmet.

"Retirbution!" The centurion grabbed hold of Tup's leg and tore him out of the air and then proceeded to slam Tup into the ground. Tup groaned as Nathan fired 10mm submachinegun at the Centurion. A round nicked the Centurion.

"C'mere, ugly!" Nathan shouted. He reached inot his ammo pouch and produced a grenade. The centurion stumbled over and Nathan threw the grenade. The centurion caught the grenade in his gorilla palm.

"Hah! You'd throw a rock?!" The centurion guffawed, he turned his fist into a palm directed his face. The grenade exploded. Appo rushed past the centurion and covered Kix.

"Move, move, move!" Appo shouted as he gunned down countless centurions. Tup stumbled to his feet and limped away.

"You good, Tup?" Axe asked as he tossed a frag grenade at the legionaries.

"Yeah, just had some air knocked out of me."

"Lieutenant Hale, sir!" a voice sparkled over the radio. Nathan tapped his pip-boy and croubhed behind a rock while Axe covered him.

"The charges are set, sir. We're on our way to provide support."

"Negative!" Nathan shouted. "We're going to withdraw past you position, blow the charges as the centurions charge forward past the bridge."

"Understood, sir!" Hardcase responded.

"Axe, gather the men, we gotta go!" Nathan shouted. He ran past Kix and Appo.

"You heard the Lieutenant! We are leaving!" Axe ducked under a legionary blow and slammed the butt of one of his pistols into his neck. Axe threw his knee into the man's gut before shoving him to the ground and let Tup take care of him. "Move carefully, lads. Cover to cover! I'll go last!" First, Tup moved to the back and then sniped form his position. Then Kix moved farther and blasted away from his position. Appo sprayed at the legionary lines to suppress them before heading out on his own, even farther back. Axe threw down a smoke grenade, firing away at more legionaries before disappearing into the smoke.

"Move it, troopers!" Axe shouted as he ran past the squad. Nathan was impressed, even the NCR, the closest military to a Pre-War professional army, did not have this level of teamwork within their units. Usually it was every man for himself. Nathan moved with Axe and fired with the All-American.

"Lieutenant, you are just under the bridge now. You have the detonator, blow the charges when you're ready." Hardcase suggested. _Oh yeah, the detonator._ Nathan pulled it out of his pouch. "Alright, everyone pull back." Nathan turned back and saw a line of brown-cladded soldiers. They were in a traditional infantry firing line. The first line was crouched in front of the second. Scorch, Hardcase, Jesse, and Anders stood behind both firing lines.

"Pull back to the lines, now!" Nathan shouted.

"Yes, sir!" Axe shouted. He blocked a legionarie's machete with his pistol and headbutted the man. "You heard the man, let's move!" Axe ran past the bridge, then Appo, Tup, and Kix. Nathan pressed the button. The canyon shook from all the explosives detonating at the same time.

Lanius awoke from the carnage, his vision red as blood. The ground shook and the rocks crumbled. He stood up and saw his helmet, a gift from the firs Caesar, destroyed. He took hold of his Blade of the East, held it up high above his head and roared triumphantly. The canyon began to shake again and crumble more. The rocks began to pile and the Legion was pulling back. Without his consent. Lanius begrudgingly conceded a temporary defeat. he stomped back to the Legion encampment. He needs to learn more about these new soldiers assisting the NCR.

Nathan watched the last of the rocks pile high and stop. Many of them were caked with blood and remains of an army was left crushed under the piles. Nathan grinned.

"I'd say that's a wrap, boys." He looked proudly at Axe. "You did good." Axe nodded curtly before turning to face Anders. Anders held his hands behind his back and stepped forward beside Nathan.

"What do you think?" Anders asked.

"They need some work." Nathan snorted. "Rangers are better individually."

"Hmph!" Anders made a funny noise.

"But as a squad, these men were far superior to any NCR squad." Nathan admitted. Anders turned his helmet towards Nathan and nodded in the same manner as Axe. _Maybe they are clones._ _I'll ask George later._ "How did the negotiations go?"

"Better than expected. The NCR is willing to contract our troopers for their operations as a test-run before full enlistment. Would you like a squad?" Anders asked curtly. Nathan winced.

"Don't have enough caps or dollars for that." Nathan slouched a bit. He was disappointed.

"No need. President George has ordered that a squad be assigned to you whenever you wanted." Anders kicked a rock. "Would these men do?"

"Would they ever! I'd love to contract this squad!" Nathan grinned.

"Well, that's too bad. They're part of my squad. But Tup and Axe were temporarily assigned to my command. Would you like them to serve under you?"

"Sure. Assuming that they will be under my command."

"Of course."

"Then, I'd be glad to serve with them."

"A last bit of news, the President needs to see you immediately regarding the status of the NORAD station."

"Understood." Nathan nodded. Anders saluted him and Nathan returned the salute. Nathan turned and walked towards Colonel Moore.

"Colonel." Nathan stated simply. She slapped him. "Moore?" She slapped him again.

"Do you know how long you've been gone?! All the trouble I went through to find your stupid ass and here I see you've become a turncoat and joined this other army?!" Moore shouted at him.

"What?" Nathan asked rubbing his cheek. Moore pouted. She was kind of cute when she got mad, because she only gets mad when she's worried and then sees that her worry was for nothing. Nathan had gotten to know that very well during the Montana and Texas campaigns previous to the Colorado.

"I'm glad you're back, Captain."

"Captain? I'm not a captain." Nathan frowned. Moore smirked.

"You are now. The NCR's in trouble after you finish here and with the NORAD station, command needs to talk to you back at the FOB."

"Understood. May I ask why?"

"Oh nothing, only that the Alaskan Confederacy has declared war on the New California Republic."


	13. Battle of the Boneyard

The tents flapped as the rain slapped against the canvas. Once again, Nathan stood amongst the men and women of the NCR military. But unlike the last he had, six months ago. Now he stood outside of the Angel's Boneyard. Named after the remaining steel skeletons of skyscrapers blown to pieces during the Great War. The guns batteries stationed on top of many of the same skyscrapers prevented a large bulk of the Chinese warheads from reaching the city. Unfortunately, they missed one. One is more than enough. Axe and the new Alpha squad assigned to Nathan distanced himself from the army he once called his own. The squad marched behind Nathan in step and in formation. Much more organized than even Oliver's personal guard.

"Look at them, NCR contractors. Hmph. Fed should just leave the army alone. We can handle anything that gets thrown against us." A soldier muttered. Nathan looked back. Experience had taught him that soldiers always had something more to say. Axe looked on ahead, his emotions undetectable under the T gaze of his visor. Nathan ducked and stepped into command tent. Chief Hanlon spoke with a Ranger vet in the corner. Commander Moore held a clipboard and marked key enemy positions on the map. Olliver, hands held behind his back gazed out the observation hole in the tent. The tent allowed for a gran view of the city. It was burning, gun batteries fired, explosions were regular.

"How did they get this far in?" Nathan nearly growled. The men filed in behind him. Moore looked up and stepped to Nathan's side. She laid a map of the entire NCR territory. The Ranger vet laid down one of the Territory north of the NCR. Canadian and Confederate territory.

"I'm afraid out scouts were not able to get good intelligence regarding the Alaskan terrirtory. We can only rely on the old Pre-War maps of Alaska." The Ranger vet spoke. His helmet was still on, muffling his voice, but no one seemed to care. A Brotherhood Knight stomped in, clad in full T-51 power armor.

"Knight Gompers, I'm glad you could join us" Colonel Moore said. The Knight, not speaking. He glanced carefully at Axe before making his way to the opposite side of the command table.

"Okay, gentlemen." Chief Hanlon began. "And of course, Colonel Moore. We are facing an enemy that is just as organized as the Legion. Unfortunately, this Confederacy does not have the Legion's standards when it comes to fighting. They are just like us when it comes to conventional warfare. They will use weapons, the only difference is that they have ahold of some Howitzer artillery guns. How they have amased such a stockpile of advanced weaponry is unknown. But that's how they've been able to cleave their way past Salt Lake City and Fort Tahoe. General Capullo and Maxwell took their respective armies to combat the Conferacy, but have had no success. Fort Tahoe was taken with all hands lost." Nathan studied the map. The Confederacy moved through NCR territory way too fast to be purely on foot.

"What are the Confederacy's transportation capabilities?" Nathan asked.

"Confederate Troops entered the Boneyard through the NCR's railroad network. How they managed to attack our holdings and cities up North so quickly is unknown." Hanlon responded. "Why do you ask, Captain?"

"These patterns are very similar to old Enclave attack patterns and strategies. Are you certain we are not fighting Enclave?" Nathan asked.

"I highly doubt it." Moore cut in. "The NCR beat the Enclave decades ago forcing a full retreat to somewhere on the East Coast. Currently, with the help of Commander McClellan in Texas we have been able to discover an old Enclave station in Chicago but we have no plans for that as of now."

"Correct." The Ranger spoke now. "But I must agree with Captain Hale. These patterns are very similar to our own strategies. Specifically those that utilize our fleet of vertibirds."

"Captain Keely, are you suggesting that the Confederacy has a fleet of their own?" Oliver asked solemnly without turning around.

"Um, no sir. Just observing that the Confederate troops have been moving very quickly in the last few weeks."

"There is no way they could have Vertibirds, our scouts would have reported it." Oliver responded, he now turned and walked up to the table.

"And what makes you so sure of that, General?" Gompers finally spoke. His power armor made his voice boom over the others, making the entire tent silent. The wind howled and the tent flapped some more. Oliver glared angrily at him.

"Regardless, we are dealing with a threat that currently is laying siege to a city not very far from our capital. We need quick action." Moore butt in.

"I agree, but we don't have the troops necessary for an engagement of this size. The whole city has been assaulted!" Hanlon responded.

"Why did they attack the Boneyard?" Axe asked. The room fell silent.

"Who are you?" Oliver asked with all the pleasant respect and politeness he was known for.

"I am a correspondent of the NORAD facility, sir." Axe responded. "I am currently assigned under Commander Hale."

"Hale's not a commander." Oliver chuckled.

"At least not according to you, sir." Oliver frowned. His grin disappeared, all amusement gone.

"And what would like to add, mercenary?"

"I'm a trooper, sir."

"If the NCR is contracting your parent company for you to support the NCR, then you are a mercenary."

"Not at all, sir. I like to think you are finally getting ahold of a professional army." Nathan smiled.

"Do you doubt the NCR's capabilities to wage war, son?" Oliver slammed his fist on the table.

"Sir, there's no need to get angry about this." Captain Keely acquiesced.

"No! This is an outrage! How dare you come in here and criticize our military in the wake of a large invasion!" Oliver shouted once more. Moore hid herself behind her clipboard. She clearly did not agree with Oliver but did not wish to speak openly about her views.

"All due respect, sir." Axe began. "If your military were so powerful, the Confederates would never have gotten so far in. Someone messed up and all of those people are paying for it."

"That's enough, Axe. Wait outside for me." Nathan spoke, preventing another burst from Oliver.

"I don't know why you'd lead a squad of mercenaries yourself, Captain Hale. A person of such a great status deserves better." Oliver was finally calm and back to his old self.

"What's the plan, General?"

"We take back the city. Lead Alpha and Keely's Attack Batalion into the Downtown market to begin our retaking of the city. Moore, you will rendezvous with the 4th Armored outside of the Boneyard and make your way to the market."

"Sir, this city is huge. The NCR has almost fully rebuilt the Boneyard to its former glory. Permission to utilize our fleet of vertibirds?" Keely broke in.

"Granted. Moore, take whatever trucks we have back in operation and use them to get your company to sweep through the city. We need to show the Confederacy who they're messing with." Oliver turned to Gompers, who towered above the rest of the men and women at the table. "Gompers, I'm going to need you and the Brotherhood to get a squad to the City Hall and defend it to the last man. Recently, during our reconstruction project of the Capital we moved our gold reserves to the Boneyard. We need to protect that at all costs."

"Understood, sir. I remember the last time." Gompers stomped out with Olier glaring at him as well.

"Hale once you retake the market, get your men to the old LAPD armory a few slicks away. I'll have Moore mark it on your map. Once you're there, ensure that our weapons and armor projects are still secret. Then hold that position until Moore comes to get you."

"Yes, sir." Nathan walked out.

"And Hale?" Nathan turned back at Oliver, now standing alone in the Command Tent. "It's good to have you back." Nathan nodded and looked up to see men and women mobilizing for a big fight. Alpha Squad stood at attention in the pounding rain.

"Officer on deck!" Axe shouted. The men somehow replaced themselves into attention without moving too much.

"At ease, gentlemen. You know the plan. Each of you take a different Veritibird, we will rendezvous at the market. We will each support the squad we're assigned to. Once we retake the market, we'll head down to the LAPD armory and secure that location. IS that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The four men shouted.

"With any luck, this will be a run-of-the-mill operation!" Nathan had to shout over the sound of thunder, wind and rain. "Dismissed!" Nathan watched as the men of his squad departed and entered a different vertibird. He turned and jumped into the one with Captain Keely. The vertibird whirred and whined before finally taking off.

"I heard, you served at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam!" Keely shouted over the storm and the engines.

"Yeah! And the Texan and Arizona campaigns as well!"

"How long have you been with the NCR?"

"Since 2281, with the Second Battle!"

"I've been with them since '77! I served with 16th Ranger Battalion in the Baja Cali raids!"

"That's why I don't recognize you!"

"I've heard them say you're good enough to be a Ranger! You want this black armor?"

"No, they're wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm better."

"We're nearing the LZ" the pilot's voice cut the chatter and spoke clearly over the radio. Suddenly machinegun fire filled the air.

"What the hell is that?" a soldier shouted.

"Flak! They've got AA guns!" Keely shouted. "You, get on the minigun!" A ranger jumped on the gun and opened fire at an unseen enemy.

"Thermal's not getting anything!"

"That's cause it's fucking raining!" Keely responded. Just fire at the heat signatures detected from the gun batteries. They'll have the most heat." An explosion rocked the vertibird.

"We're taking a lot of enemy fire." The pilot's voice sprang out of the air once again. Keely assisted the gunner on the minigun.

"There! Shoot there!" Keely shouted. A spray of bullets shot through the vertibird teargin holes into the walls.

"Shit! They hit the tail." The pilot spoke again. "I'm going to drop you a few blocks away from the LZ, the flak's too much for the bird."

"Affirmative!" Keely shouted.

"Just get us there in one piece!" Nathan shouted. Another spray tore the gunne off the gun and out the other open door of the vertibird.

"Gunny's down, Martinez grab the gun!" Keely shouted. Another ranger toke hold of the gun. Another explosion rocked the vertibird.

"I'm losing control of the Bird, it's now or never."

"Get ready to jump!" Keely shouted. The vertibird slowed and bullets and flak darted past the bird, slamming into other flying vehicles and buildings. Suddenly an explosion rocked the vertibird and it began to pick up speed once again.

"They got the wing! We're going down!" The pilote shouted. Nathan held his gung tighter. Keely pushed the gunner into a seat.

"Brace yourselves!" Keely shouted. Then the vertibird slamme into the ground creating a sense of weightlessness.

Then darkness.


	14. Block by Block

It was a white room, so white that it was impossible not to squint. Nathan thought as he followed George through a different wing of the NORAD facility.

"Do you know why I never leave the compound, Nathan?" George asked, not looking back. Striding quickly seemingly not caring if his follower kept pace or not.

"No, sir. I don't." Nathan muttered and did his best to follow.

"Thanks to the engineering process by which the federal government has created me, I simply can no longer go outside. Something with the change in atmosphere and environment and whatnot." George commented carelessly. He turned and gave a small smile. "I never cared to look anyways." He continued down the endless corridor.

"Made you, sir?" Nathan was confused. "How do you mean?"

"Simply put, in 2096, an idea for breeding the perfect presidential candidate was put forth on the Congress floor." He turned waved his hands as if to show off his whole person. "I am the result of said idea." He smiled once more warmly, then his brow knit together and his expression turned dark.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

"Yes, to ensure that there would not be more than one 'perfect' candidate for each election they messed with the aging process of each of us." George stopped at a terminal, leaned forward and typed in a password. The terminal chirped and the screen began displaying row after row of numbers and letters.

"Aging process? Us? Sir, I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about at all whatsoever."

Nathan grunted. The white, metal door slid open with a whoosh. Anders stood behind it ever the solder standing at full attention, holding his helmet in the brook of his right arm.

"Are you ready to inspect the new batch, sir?" Anders asked promptly. George shook his head and waved Anders off. To which Anders acknowledged with a nod and stayed put.

"Batch?" Nathan asked.

"Pay him no heed, Lieutenant." George responded quickly. "All in due time. Everything must come at the right time. Isn't that right, Anders?"

"Of course, sir." Anders said curtly.

"Wait, what the hell is going on? Seriously." Nathan asked once more. George chuckled and turned around smiling while walking backwards. Another, much larger door began to slide itself open as the trio neared it. It seemed to pulse with energy.

"All in due time." George smirked. The door became fully opened and the light blinded Nathan for a moment. Blue vats laid spread out all throughout the room with technicians in biohazard suits scurried here an there. The room was not truly a room, it was really more like a cavern that was almost as large as the cave that served as a proving grounds of sorts. The same cave that Nathan have traveled through himself.

"What are in the vats?" Nathan asked. He looked up and about trying to get a good angle to see the contents of each vat.

"The real question is who?" George responded. He placed his hands on the railing in front of him, watching the work unfold before him. "President Robert Grimes converted the NORAD facility to serve as the nation's most advanced research center. At least in terms of government, the private sector's obvious giant in the industry is CIT. Or at least whatever is left of it. I hear it goes by the Institute now."

"Who? What?"

"Exactly!" Nathan began to stride forward once more, leaving Nathan bewildered and once again responsible to catch up to George.

"That has been the question I have been asking myself for a very, very long time. Ever since the President Grimes decided to start the cloning program in 2124 there have been numerous candidates for the cloning subjects. It wasn't until my terms of service between '56 and '64 that I decided to tweak the age limit of the Presidential clones a bit." George took a clipboard from a technician scribbled a few things and handed it back to the technician. "I mean think of the possibilities! Who was the original? Why did he do all this? What convinced Congress that democracy had to be set aside for the greater good of the country?"

"A cloned President? The Old World Country cloned their presidents? And the people were okay with that? I'm sure if the NCR heard about this, no one'd trust the fed." Nathan commented.

"Well, not cloned in the sense you're thinking of. That was really Vault-Tec's deal. At least until the Great War and then the Vault-Tec got wiped off the map and then I simply took all the data that was still being transmitted by one of their hvaults in DC. Which was it, 101? No that's the interesting autocratic one. Oh well." George continued, he stopped in front of a blue vat.

"Wait, hold on. I really am having a hard time keeping up with you, Mr. President. Please slow down." Nathan said, not paying too much attention to the vat in front of him. Meanwhile George began typing keys on the terminal while whistling a tune.

"You'll have to forgive him, sir. He gets like this a lot. It has something to do with the experimental intellect gene that the Office of Scientific Advancement was trying to isolate with their engineered presidents program." Anders cut in.

"Okay that makes sense. But were people really okay with this? I mean what about the democratic process and such?"

"Well, truthfully, I've no idea, sir. That is not an area I was trained or taught while in the academy. All of us here learn about the history of the United States and how we have to defend its memory. As far as we're concerned the Republics still intact and strong, sir."

"Interesting. You do realize there is nothing up there but wasteland creatures and dangerous people, correct?" Nathan asked.

"Of course, sir. I'd expect nothing less. That's why we were desisnged and bred to serve as the perfect soldiers." Anders responded.

"We? Who's we?"

"That would be us, sir." A voice that sounded almost identical to Anders came from Nathan's left. A man wearing the same armor as Anders but colored a pristine white when compared to Anders' dark grey.

"You sound the same as Anders." Nathan said.

"Well, that's because we're clones." The man responded. "Name's CT-5216 or Oddball if you prefer nicknames. We here are clone troopers, bred to fight for the Republic."

"Oddball?"

"We don't like the numbers, sir. It's a bit degrading and bad for moral. So we come up with nicknames for ourselves." Anders cut in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. First presidents, now soldiers?!" Nathan asked.

"Well, yes." George turned around, his eyes sparkling. "It was quite easy really, the Kearney administration wanted to create the perfect soldier in '76. They contracted West-Tek and Vault-Tec to do it for them. I was pissed, ever since I left the office in '64 I'd been stuck here doing nothing. So I hacked the Vault-Tec computers and stole their research. To make sure no one would notice, I made a few design changes and decided to base it off this one secret service agent I hated named Gary. I wonder what happened to him? No matter. After I had the research all I had to do was figure out who to clone. Before I could finish my studies, the facility sealed itself and I later learned that the Great War had occurred. I became scared, I knew my life was almost up thanks to the aging process of clones." George took a drink from a water bottle on the table he was working at. "They wanted to keep it short, President's elected in, leaves and disappears. No one notices anything wrong. It was effective, I was bred to lead and to think. But I was also bred to live for only twenty years. I was ten years old when I was elected into office so after I made it to '77, I was well over twenty. I was confused, how could this happen? So I began to conduct a few more studies until I figured what the original scientists had done to mess with my aging process in the beginning. After figuring that out, reversing it was a cinch. I've been alive ever since."

"Since before the Great War? Damn. And you're not a ghould?! What have you done all this time?"

"Designing weapons and armor that would have allowed us to beat the Chinese at Anchorage in record time. And then after that, designing the man who would get to wear and use the kit I've designed." George waved his hand before the blue vat. It hissed and opened.

An explosion shook the walls and the floor. A backpack fell out from under Nathan's seat. A red light blinked on. Then off. On. Then off. Nathan coughed. He looked up and saw himself hanging from the seat, he felt himself sway back and forth. He tore the buckle open and flew down to the ground. He grunted and rolled off his back and onto his feet. The vertibird creaked. Nathan turned and saw the limp body of a dead ranger veteran.

"Aw, shit." Nathan grunted. He rubbed his head and reached for his helmet. He couldn't find it for a few seconds and scrambled to locate it. He saw the recognizable glowing T in the dark and threw it own. Gunfire and explosions. Nathan was awake now. He loaded a magazine into his marksman carbine and reached for the door handle. Suddenly it was thrown open and a man donning a white parka, fatigues, combat boots, and a ski mask stood in the door way, blocking the light from a nearby street lamp. The man then slumped to his knees and fell into a pile inches from Nathan's feet. Captain Keely stepped into view, holding his Ranger Sequoia in his left hand while wiping his bowie knife on his sleeve. He coughed and sheathed his knife. A wisp of fog came out from his mask. Was it cold? Keely reloaded his Sequoia, three rangers followed suit and took up firing positions near him.

"Clear!" One of them shouted.

"You all right there, Hale?" Keely shouted he reached out his hand. Hale gripped it and felt the man pull him up effortlessly.

"Yeah, just took a hit to the head when we landed. How'd you get out?"

"I jumped." Keely said. He turned a car exploded nearby. A body landed nearby. "We need to get out of here. Wilcott! Stevens! Recon our path to the market!" Two rangers immediately sprinted away. Nathan adjusted the antennae on the right side of his helmet. He held the button at its base.

"Axe, status report." Nathan spoke into the mike in the helmet.

"We're still moving towards the target. Saw your bird go down, sir. Need a hand?" Axe responded promptly.

"Negative. Secure the market. Keely and I will make our way there on foot."

"Copy." Axe cut out. Nathan flipped the safety off for his carbine. He nodded to Keely. Keely held out his Sequoia and waved the other Ranger vet forward.

Wilcott stood behind a car while Stevens held a pair of binoculars.

"What's the situation?" Keely asked as he neared the pair's location. Wilcott took out a sheet of paper with a crude map of the Downtown area.

"Sir, here's where we were supposed to come in." He pointed to a large clearing in the Southeast side of the map. "We landed here." He pointed at the Northern part of the map.

"Shit." Keely grunted. "That's in the heart of enemy territory."

"What do you mean? The confederate troops got this far?" Nathan asked. Keely nodded and pointed once again at the map.

"We don't know how they did it but they somehow bypassed everything, all the cities like the Hub and Vault City to get here. They didn't fight anybody or cross any border. They just appeared, literally out of nowhere."

"That's impossible."

"That's what Olliver said." Keely grunted. He stuffed the map into his vest. "It doesn't matter now, they're already here." Suddenly a shot rang out.

"Contact! In the roof above us!" Stevens shouted. He fired his Brush gun twice.

"Move! Move! Move!" Wilcott pushed Nathan into a wall. "Sorry, sir." Nathan nodded. He looked up and saw a flash of white, he produced a fragmentation grenade, pulled the pin and lobbed it up.

"Frag out!" Nathan shouted. The grenade exploded shortly after. Then there was no more shooting.

"Okay, we're clear. Let's move, people! Keep going straight!" Keely shouted, directing the squad.

"We're nearing the LZ." The pilot's voice squawked over the speaker. Axe loaded a plasma cartridge into his rifle. The magazine stuck out of his blocky weapon. The side of his weapon held a display that read 300 indicating how many shots he had left. He lifted up his left wrist and pressed his index finger on the blue button labeled "seal" on it. The helmet made a whooshing hiss as it completely sealed itself to the armor. No amount of force short of ripping his head off with let the helmet ever unseal itself. It was a bit claustrophobic but after years of wearing the armor, Axe was used to it.

"Red light, Gentlemen." The crew chief said as he stood by the vertibird door. It was closed since this one did not have a minigun on either side. Bullets pinged and panged off the vertibird, jerking the aircraft as it flew above the landing zone. Four NCR soldiers began to check their weapons and put on their helmets and such.

"Green light!" The crew chief shouted. The doors flew open and Axe leapt through it and onto the ground. Lasers lit up the night as Confederate troops rained down heavy fire on the vertibirds and the NCR military troops.

"We're taking heavy fire!" A captain shouted before a round sliced through his helmet.

"Get to cover!" a soldier shouted. Axe lifted his weapon and fired a burst of plasma. Blue bolts shot out of the weapon, a white-clad soldier fell to the ground minus an arm and completely limp. Axe vaulted over a few crates and crouched behind it. Gunfire. Axe looked at his wrist-mounted tactical computer. Essentially a stripped down Pip-Boy, the computer displayed the local map of the area nad listed objectives that were snet to him by Hale's Pip-Boy. Axe found Tup and Kix. They were together and Ajax was still moving fast, meaning he was still on a vertibird. Axe looked up and saw a missile shoot through the air and into the cockpit of a vertibird taking off. The veritibird swirled and twisted before plopping itself back onto the ground. Axe leapt out of cover to avoid the crash. He got up and rushed to the aircraft. He pulled open the bay doors only to find that all of the men inside were already dead. Cut up by shrapnel and deformed into the strange and contorted positions due to the force of the crash.

"Axe, status report!" Hale's voice rang clear above the sound of the battle. A laser bolt shot past Axe's helmet. Axe turned around and took cover behind a kiosk. He lifted his gun and fired multiple bursts. Three confederate soldiers fell from their firing positions on the roof of a nearby building.

"We're still moving towards the target. Saw your bird go down, sir. Need a hand?" Axe noted that he was not truly at the marketplace. The pilot had overshot his squad's landing. Axe ducked under a laser bolt and squeezed off a long spray of plasma fire. A man screamed.

"Negative. Secure the market. Keely and I will head there on foot."

"Copy." Axe responded. "Ajax, you read me?"

"Yes, sir?" Ajax responded.

"See, if you can man a minigun and fire on positions I mark using the rangefinder."

"Copy." Axe grabbed a the antennae on the left side of his helmet and brought to eye level. It scanned the terrain and red marks began to appear. He pointed his tactical computer to it and held a flat grey surface on it near his elbow.

"Position marked. Firing, sir." Ajax said. Suddenly a spray of yellow gunfire shot through the night air and decimated the enemy personnel on the rooftop. Axe marked another one and Ajax fired. Another. And another. Then there was no more gunfire.

"Any left that you can see, Ajax?"

"Negative, sir. Nothing firing at the bird neither."

"Copy. See you at the market." Axe said.

"Roger. See you there, Lefttenant." The Vertibird hovered and hook before departing towards heavier fighting.

Nathan held his back against the wall. Keely held a fist up. He checked around the corner. Gunfire could be heard nearby. There was an explosion and Keely pushed Nathan back. Sudenly a vertibird shot through the street and landed in the building across the fire team.

"Really getting tired of getting pushed around." Nathan muttered. He got to his feet. Keely darted forward and Nathan covered him. Then Nathan moved. Soldiers clad in white littered the street and market place. Bullet shells, service rifles, but few NCR bodies lay among the dead. The dead mean all had burn marks on them. Clean black holes. Plasma. Laser just would've left a hole. Plasma is what really burns.

"Axe, you there at the marketplace?" Nathan asked over the comm.

"Negative, sir. Still regrouping Chalk 1. We took some heavy casualties, just a click out from the position."

"Roger that. Tup, Kix, Ajax. Status!"

"This is Ajax, still circling the marketplace, sir. Some heavy fighting gone on down there. Three birds crashed down there, I think Tup and Kix are down there too." Ajax quickly responded.

"Understood. Kix. Tup." Nathan shouted as he stepped over bodies and pressed his back against a nearby wall. Captain Keely inspected the dead bodies while Wilcott covered the entire squad from the center of the street.

"Whole lotta casualties over here, sir. I don't know if I can keep up." Tup shouted. Laser fire could be heard and nearly muffled his voice. "We're going to need air support. These men are terrible shots, but their weapons.." he cut off.

"Say again?" Nathan inquired.

"Something about them, sir. Feel familiar. They aren't normal laser rifles. They resemble the ones we use in the NORAD facility." Tup responded.

"Tup, see if you can acquire one of the enemy arms for recollection and study after the battle. Axe, regroup Chalk 1 and lead the whole chalk to the marketplace. Ajax, maintain overwatch on the vertibird. See if you can spot another other downed vertibirds or isolated squads. We're going to need all the men we can. We need to support the market quickly before Cassandra gets here with the main force."

"Understood, sir. I see you down there!" Ajax responded. A humming sound whirred above and Nathan looked up. The visor phased through multiple colors before settling on a blue-gray that lit up the night sky and outlined the vertibird with a clear dark blue. It hung in the air for a few seconds before moving on.

"Keely that's the statud on the convoy?" Nathan asked. Keely tapped his finger onto the antennae on his ranger helmet.

"Fifteen." He said grimly.

"We'll have to make do." Nathan said. He stepped over a piece of rubble and slowly opened a door. More dead lay inside.

"Wilcott, grab the tags and we'll move on."

"Understood." Wilcott moved quickly to a body on the other side of the room, he turned over a dead ranger and suddenly a high pitched whir filled the room.

"Out of the room!" Keely shouted. A green field detonated from Wilcott and enveloped the room.


	15. Danger Close

Olliver let out a puff from his cigar as he watched the battle from afar. The Battle of the Boneyard. He thought. _Has a nice ring to it._ He twirled the thin tube in his fingers as the radio chatter grew louder and louder. AA batteries shot rounds into the sky while howitzers near Vault City rained barrages of metal rain on the once great city of the NCR. Olliver shook his head. Only the highest echelon of government officials knew exactly how expensive it was to rebuild the Boneyard. Of course, being a military officer, Olliver wasn't supposed to know such details, but… A few caps here and there are sure to loosen lips. Olliver wasn't supposed to have caps nor was he to spend them on anything in the NCR. But sometimes things need to be settled discreetly and caps are the easiest route to go with. Olliver shifted his posture as he sat in the wooden chair, he kicked his feet up onto the railing in front of him. Rain pattered against his clean uniform, but Olliver didn't mind. He had a show to watch.

"Jenkins, get down from there!" Moore shouted. The soldier took a laser round to the head allowing Moore to watch it fall from the turret on her truck. "Gunner down! Victor 2 take it! You two, on me!" she pointed at two soldiers. Moore kicked open the door of her truck and leapt onto the streets. Though it was in the dead of night, the fires of the burning buildings and the fiery deaths of vertibirds in the air made the night light up like the Strips of New Vegas. Moore watched as a vertibird shoot straight down from the sky like lightning.

"Whoa!" A soldier shouted. Moore motioned her escorts around the wreckage as she observed a familiar E painting job on the downed vehicle.

"Commander, you're going to want to see this!" A soldier shouted. Moore rushed ahead and over a mound of dirt. She stood center, between the soldiers and found a city on fire.

"Oh man. Oh man, oh man." The soldier to her right groaned. "How the hell are we coming back from this?" Moore glared at the man.

"What's your name, soldier?" Moore asked.

"Maxwell, ma'am." Moore nodded and turned to the other soldier.

"Bentley." He grunted.

"We're going in. We have civilians to evacuate and a city to retake. This is just the first step. What do you think is the next target after the NCR's biggest port is taken by the enemy?" Moore asked.

"Home." Bentley muttered. Moore nodded grimly.

"So we have to get down there. Rangers are already in fighting block by block to secure a way in for us. We're the cleanup crew, and those Rangers will die if we don't make there in time. You read me?" Moore asked, mostly directing her speech at Maxwell. The two nodded as the trucks stopped behind her and began unloading troops.

"Come on. Let's get down there." Moore said and waved the soldiers down the hill. She looked back at the burning Boneyard. _Nate, I hope you're still alive out there, doing what you do best._

-Nathan-

Nathan groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground. A dead ranger fell from over his back as Nathan stood.

"Nathan!" a familiar voice rang through the darkness. A sudden light forced the lens of the helmet to readjust as a hand reached through the light. Nathan grabbed it and was helped to his feet. It was Keely. Nathan nodded his thanks and grabbed a rifle off the dead ranger, having lost his own in the blast.

"Good to see you made it, brother." Keely grunted.

"Anyone else make it?" Nathan asked. Keely shook his head.

"Just us. C'mon. We need to get back in the fight." Keely took point and walked forward, service rifle raised. Nathan inspected the carbine in his hands as he slid a clip home and heard it click. After chambering a round and satisfied with the feel, Nathan continued out of the ruined store.

Nathan vaulted over a broken window and walked to where Keely was standing. Keely watched the burning skies and shook his head.

"It was supposed to great new city. The Grand Capital of the New California Republic. Shame we never got to see it in all it's glory." Keely bemoaned.

"No point crying over spilled milk." Nathan shrugged. Keely motioned Nathan forward and they began to clear the rubble-laden streets.

They reached a point where a low rumble filled the street. Keely motioned Nathan back.

"The Hell is that?" Nathan asked.

"I think it's a tank." Keely muttered. He grabbed his radio. "Anyone out there in the streets?"

"Captain Keely! Thank God, we thought we lost you out there!" a voice responded.

"Hah, not dead yet, kid. Where are you? How's your unit doing?" Keely asked.

"Six men down, we've about me and another ten guys still standing. Most of 'em are basic grunts, though. We're holed up in Boneyard Bank. Grays have the entire front courtyard covered." The man on the radio responded.

"Roger. I see it. We're headed to your position now. Watch your fire." Keely spoke before looking back at Nathan.

"You ready?" He asked. Nathan nodded. Keely rushed forward and sprinted across the street. Nathan quickly followed suit. Keely opened the door to what appeared to be an Pre-War antiques shop. They two rangers cleared the room before stepping over a collapsed wall into the neighboring store. Every few minutes, Nathan glanced out the window to find an entire staging area that what the Rangers were calling the enemies: "Grays" had set up. Vertibirds flew in and dropped of troops with even more weapons.

"Where the hell are they coming from?" Keely muttered.

"And where'd they get all this kit?" Nathan mused. He watched the soldiers unload crates after crates of what Nathan assumed to be weapons and munitions for a prolonged invasion. Nathan shook his head as he carefully lifted one foot over a toppled desk and then carefully stepped over with the other.

Keely rushed forward and crouched beside a door with Nathan taking the opposite side. Despite it being nearly pitch dark, both men knew what to do. Keely listened at the door, satisfied that there were no sounds to arouse suspicion, carefully opened it as well. Staying low, Keely advanced into the café while Nathan lingered for five seconds before following suit.

The café area had miraculously been left untouched, as if to mock to scenes of war and struggle just outside the parlor. The wide glass windows, reminiscent of the old Pre-war shops and stores that used to line the streets only made Nathan more disappointed in the NCR. _How could this have happened?_ He wondered as he followed Captain Keely.

Just seconds later, Keely stopped and motioned for Nathan to stop as well. Keely peeked overhead before ducking quickly.

"Raiders, squawk in." Keely whispered over the radio. Nathan frowned. _Raiders?!_ The very people the NCR hated and hunted down like animals? Nathan could not believe that Captain Keely would refer to his unit as Raiders.

"Peters, in position."

"Stevenson, in position."

"Rest of us are across the street, boss. Waiting on your word." Keely turned to Nathan.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Of course." Nathan replied simply. Keely nodded and primed a pulse grenade. He stood and lobbed it straight through the window and into a group of Grays.

"Hey, what the hell?!" one cried. Nathan lobbed a frag through the window as well before ducking.

"Hit 'em!" Keely shouted. The pulse grenade exploded and the courtyard lit open like a scene straight out of an old holodisk. Nathan jumped up and emptied a magazine at a group of Grays. Inefficient, but enough to suppress the group so that the Raiders in various firing positions could pick them off.

"Let's go!" Keely shouted just as the smoke cleared. Nathan watched as Keely valiantly hopped over the broken window and into the smoke. Nathan couldn't help but smile as he joined the fight.

Nathan moved cover to cover and firing the occasional potshot. The Grays were thrown into utter chaos. They had no idea where the enemy was coming from. Clearly, they weren't expecting an attack. Another sign that this was their planned forward operating base after all.

Keely rushed forward and gunned down a Gray before running out of ammo. He attempted to reload when a Gray tackled him. Nathan caught the man in mid-air with a round of his carbine rifle. Keely kicked the body off of him and stumbled to his feet when a Patrol Ranger rushed through the smoke.

"Captain Keely, the Grays are retreating. We did it." The Ranger shouted.

"Battle's not over yet, son." Keely panted and spat at the dead Gray by his feet. "We still have a city to take."

"That's not what I meant, sir. Commander Moore did it, she routed the Grays advance and retook the City Hall and the Market Square." The Ranger stated. And as if on cue, a Vertibird swooped in above and landed haphazardly. Axe and Moore stepped off and Nathan chuckled.

"Sounds you like boys had one hell of a fight." Moore grinned.

"Eh, it was okay." Nathan returned. Keely took off his helmet and mask and raised a hand to Moore.

"Nothing we couldn't handle ma'am. We've pushed the Grays out of the Boneyard?" Keely asked.

"Almost, they're still in full retreat but they're retreating to some sort of amphibious platform, I can't really describe it." Moore said.

"Well, I guess you have to show us." Nathan joked.

"Oh, that's exactly what I plan to do, Lieutenant. This battle isn't over yet." Moore smiled. "Get on the Vertibird, I'll explain on the way.


End file.
